Rossese Rosso Se Selvadolce 2016

A wonderfully intriguing and delicious red wine, bursting with ripe fruits and texture. Liguria maybe doesn’t have the same fame for its wines as the nearby Langhe Hills but the graoe Rossese can give such beautifully textural wine without the big tannins and structure of Nebbiolo. Because of the topography of the rea, steep slopes and unattainable hillsides, Liguria also lends itself to small artisan wineries and natural production. Selvadolce is one in the top draw, superb wines with real personality.

Selvadolce is a small biodynamic farm in Bordighera on the coast of Liguria, run by wine maker Aris Blancardi. Aris came back to the family flower business, taking over his father’s work and improved the farming practices by looking for alternative ways to grow flowers. He first learnt the basics of biodynamic farming in the Langhe, then followed up with a course led by Nicholas Joly that convinced him to start making wine at Selvadolce. Aris’ grandfather had planted vineyards using local grape varieties such as Pigato and Vermentino. The first vintage with these grapes was released in 2007. His experience with flowers steered him naturally towards non interventionist wine making from the very beginning. Aris has 7 hectares of vineyards that are strongly influenced by the proximity of the sea and the powerful mistral winds. The vines are comprised of a few young vineyards of Pigato, Vermentino, plus some splendid vineyards of Rossese that he planted at 600m altitude on sandy soil, close to the inland village of Dolceacqua. For most of the wines, fermentation happens naturally in wooden vats. Aris also experiments with a few skin maceration whites made from the old vines his grandfather planted.