I had already heard about Rossovermiglio, the Sannio Winery of the Verlingieri’s family, so at Vinitaly Special Edition I took the opportunity to pass by their exhibition stand. The Rossovermiglio Winery is located in the thriving Sannio’s countryside, in a very suitable area that has over a thousand-years history in wine production.
Winemaking for Verlingeri’s family is a centuries old tradition, in fact already in the 1800s the winery was growing quality grapes and producing red wines in the municipality of Paduli. More recently, since 1988 the winery has been managed by Piero Verlingieri who immediately began to plant new vineyards, focusing on white varieties. In addition to red wines made from Aglianico grapes, the winery started to produce white wines such as Falanghina, Greco and Fiano. Nowdays, the Winery besides owning some of the best vineyards in the area, has gained a long history in the wine of quality production. These factors are the strengths of Rossovermiglio wines and the outcome of a hidden combination of tradition and innovation.
The vineyards are located south-east of Benevento at the foothills of the Campania’s Apennines, in an area far from the most recognised Sannio wine region. Here, the pedo-climatic conditions allow an original varietal expression of the native grapes. The vines are trained on trellises with a planting density that reaches 5,000 plants per hectare and the vineyards are at an average altitude of about 300 meters above sea level. The soils are rather poor in organic matter, but with a rich structure and with a good presence of clay and limestone. The temperatures are on average lower than the other vineyards in Sannio, with diurnal range, frequent snow in winter and a good annual rainfall. The evolution of all the phenological phases of the vine is therefore rather late and the ripening of the grapes is slow and gradual.
The distinctive expressive elements of Rossovermiglio wines are freshness and finesse, as I appreciated in my tasting. But Fiano is the wine that impressed me the most, so I have decided to talk about it. The harvest is exclusively manual and the grapes are brought in small creates into the very modern cellar. After destemming and crushing, cold maceration starts and lasts for about 12 hours. Skins are then separated from the must, and a 10-day alcoholic fermentation at 18° C takes place in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. In the end, the wine ages on the lees for at least four months and then it matures for a long time in the bottle.
Sannio Fiano 2017
The wine is crystal clear and displays a straw yellow color with greenish reflections. On the nose, it is intense and persistent, with clear hints of grapefruit and almost ripe cedar, white peach, pronounced mineral notes, then hazelnut, acacia flowers and aromatic herbs. In the mouth the wine is dry but soft, fresh, savory and mineral, and on the finish it is balanced and long lasting with fruity and herbaceous returns.
It is a beautiful Fiano from Sannio that reflects the wine profile of Fiano from Irpinia. It is a wine of extreme finesse and probably it would be able to surprise me if I tasted it again in a few years This wine could pair whit rich seafood platters, but it would also be a good match with first courses such as pasta and risotto, as well as with vegetable based dishes.