Born from vines that for the most part are among the oldest not just in Dolceacqua, but in the whole of Italy (planted 1890).  Every year, this wine emits a strong expression, not only because of the old vines and the site, but because every season here gives a different and surprising wine capable of releasing extraordinary aromas and layers of complexity.

Appellation: Rossese di Dolceacqua Superiore DOC
Varietal: 100% Rossese
Winemaking: 80 years-old Provencal bush trained vines (alberello). Hand harvested, spontaneous fermentation is stainless steel tanks.
ABV: 13%
Bottle size: 750ml
Cases produced: 325

Tasting Note: It has a rarefied, transparent ruby color with luminous garnet flashes. Denser than than the other cuvees (14% abv amps things up), and the choice of the black colour of the label is already a strong hint. The nose immediately impresses with an intense spicy profile with ripe red cherries, autumn forest undergrowth, hints of tanned leather and something toasted.  A taut palate in which the acidity, well present, combines with the youthful tannins for a youthful structure texturally that contrasts beautifully against the softer and luscious primary red fruits.  Pronounced intensity that is elegant still that fans out into a long finish.

Importer: The winery has NO website, but they do have facebook and Instagram.  With few importers as the production is so tiny, there is so little out there available about them.

Giovanna Maccario is the daughter of one the pioneers of viticulture in Western Liguria, already bottling Rossese wines in the early seventies.

Twenty years ago Giovanna began taking care of the vineyards and cellar located in the township of San Biagio della Cima, in the heart of the Dolceacqua district, nestled in-between two steep valleys that lead to the Ligurian Sea, just a couple of miles away.

The vines, some of them over a hundred years old, are trained in the alberello system (Provençal bush-vines) and are planted at such incline that no mechanized work is possible. All the tending and the harvesting are done by hand.

The vineyards are small plots within a short distance from each other but have a very different terroir and this prompted Giovanna to vinify and bottle each cru separately, each offering a unique character. All are vinified in stainless steel in order to keep intact the delicate personality of the Rossese grape. The Luvaira vineyard has some vines that were planted as far as 1890, amongst the oldest surviving in the whole of Italy, producing a wine with high alcohol tenor, high acidity and spicy character. The Posau vineyard gives the wines a more open aromatic and floral quality, forward and seductive.

The Rossese di Dolceacqua DOC was created in 1972, until then all the wine produced in the area was sold and consumed locally, unbottled.

The Rossese varietal is genetically related to Tibouren, a grape grown in Southern France, and it is still unclear in which region it originated.
Maccario Dringenberg grows four hectares of vines and produces 23.000 bottles annually.