With Hart and the Homeowners at Fiz

That was a long ass name.
The winemaker is new to me. Brandon mentioned their whites is one of the greatest whites ever.

Rovittello No. 341 is one of their 3 icon wines, and the 2016 is the second ever vintage of this bottling. The Riserva in particular used grapes from only centenarian, largely pre-phylloxera vines.

90% Nerello Mascalese + ~10% Nerello Cappuccio

In the glass: Lighting was terrible, but it was this gorgeous bright ruby with orange tone. Light bodied. Slightly cloudy, seemingly unfiltered.

On the nose: sweet red cherries, tinge of strawberries (huh???) and the standout aromatics was this earthiness. Not quite the typical intense minerality or stoniness, but this earthiness.

On the palate: don’t let the visuals fool you. This was pure and high intensity of red fruits on the palate. Body was mid-. Tannins had this super fine grained quality to it – it’s clearly there when you swallow it, but just releases your tongue quickly. Acidity was mid+. Fresh.

My only complaint is that I got a fair bit of alcoholic heat on the exhale – checked the bottle and it was a firm 14%.
I don’t think the aromatics alone was strong enough to balance this alcohol, but it was generally rescued by the stunning palate.

Super pleased I finally drank this.