Castello Conti “Origini” 2020

$31.99/28.99 on 6+ (code: 6saves3)

The most immediately delicious and fun of the wines I tasted, while at the same time complex and changing in the glass as you go. A wine you can aperitif or crush with most foods that go well with Italian food. Deep ruby, dark core, vibrantly youthful. Intense aromas of currants, black raspberry, and blackberry, but at the same time very lifted, very pure, with clear mineral notes poking out under all that primary fruit. The palate reflects the nose and is med/med+, with an intense palate and long finish. A great combination of less weight and more flavor/complexity! This sees no wood, only steel tanks kept at cool temps to preserve the freshness and elegance of such a deep wine and then bottled for freshness.

• Croatina (50%), Nebbiolo (30%), Vespolina, Uva Rara, Dolcetto di Boca, and other indigenous varieties (20%)
  
• From 1.5 ha of 85-year-old vines in the village of Maggiora in volcanic porphyry, iron-rich limestone-clay, quartz, and sand soils
  

Importer: “Origini”, Vino Rosso del Alto Piemonte, 2015 produced by the Conti family. This lovely, lively wine made from a field blend of grapes local to the Alto Piemonte, including Nebbiolo, Bonarda, Vespolina, Barbera and Uva Rara, is from organically farmed vineyards. The Conti family, famous for its Boca, has created this classic wine which captures the freshness and also the seriousness of this almost mystical Terroir. Several years ago, the sisters acquired a parcel of very old vines planted in the local traditional maggiorina trellising system, in which four vines are planted in a tight square and trained in the four cardinal directions, forming a goblet shape. “Origini” (meaning “origins”) is a true field blend: everything is harvested and fermented together. In a way, it is the most Alto Piemonte wine the Contis produce; with Nebbiolo playing only a minor role, and with a training system so specific to the area, it takes the mind even farther from the Langhe than do the Boca and Spanna.