Vino del Poggio - 'Vino Rosso' - Barbera - Emilia Romagna, IT - 2018

Notes from the Winery/Importer

This is a rustic and gastronomic natural red wine, with a spontaneity that never detracts from its intrinsic depth and vitality. It’s 100% Barbera from young vines, that sees a long maceration on the skins in steel tanks to extract and sublimate all of the goodness hidden in the skins. It ages in large wood for 1 year and in the bottle for 1 more. Astoundingly fresh and dynamic, it bursts with crushed blackberries, black pepper and pickled capers.

Notes on the Producer

Andrea Cervini has spent the entirety of his life in Colli Piacentini. He's Emilian through and through. Andrea fell in love with wine through his uncle who was a small, blue-collar wine-grower in the area. He started helping his uncle at the age of 13. It was years later when he formed a friendship with Giulio Armani at La Stoppa that he really caught the bug.

In 2006, Andrea started off on his own and planted some vineyards near his home in Travo (about 15 minutes from La Stoppa). Today there are a total of 4 hectares - including one acquired vineyard that was planted in 1970. The vineyards - made up of Barbera, Bonarda and Malvasia di Candia Aromatica- are planted on clay and limestone soil, at an altitude of 200 meters. The farming is Organic and the cellar is pointed directly to the past - housing long macerations and bottles of carefully timed releases - an homage to his best friend and mentor Giulio Armani.

I spend most of my nights in Emilia at Andrea's agriturismo. His daughter cooks us hand made tortellini in brodo and Tortelli d'erbetta with sage. It is an extremely special place to me. I'm so happy to share another vintage of his Bianco of 100% Malvasia di Candia and more of, to me, possibly the most underrated wine in the portfolio, the 2010 Navel Rosso.

Andrea, his Toscano cigars, his one of kind laugh, his beautiful bucolic wines - this is an imaginative character that can only come from the hills outside of Piacenza. I truly hope everyone can go there someday.

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