2023 Vigneti Vumbaca, Cirò DOC, Rosso Classico Superiore, Calabria, Italy.
One of my favorite new producers of the year so far and a standout at this year’s San Francisco Slow Wine Tour event, Vigneti Vumbaca crafts small lot offerings from the Cirò appellation in Calabria in Southern Italy, with their Tre Bicchieri Cirò DOC Rosso Classico Superiore being one the big reasons why. Made with delicacy and transparency in mind, this Gagiloppo based red brightly flavored and fresh in detail with strawberry, wild plum, cherry and spiced raspberry fruits on the silken medium bodied palate, it has also hints of warm stone, pine needles, lilac florals, rosemary herb and a bit of sultry earthiness. Vigneti Vumbaca, founded in 1984, is run by Christian Vumbaca, who left the bright lights, hustle and bustle of Rome to take over his mother and uncle’s remote estate in Cirò, with his Gaglioppo bush trained vines grown on clayey-limestone soils and south-facing slopes. The Vigneti Vumbaco Cirò Rosso is almost totally all if not all Gaglioppo, with the Classicos being 100% Gagilioppo, and from what I understand and it was gently macerated and raised exclusively in cool stainless steel vats, as all the wines are done here, and it shows in the fine detail and freshness, with plenty of vibrant acidity. Cantina Vigneti Vumbaca, based here in Cirò, has 15 acres of all organic vines. These wines are certainly about place and the celebration of life in this sometimes harsh and lesser known landscape and are best with simple cuisine.
I first started exploring the wines from Cirò about 12 years ago and they’ve always intrigued me and does the Gagilioppo grape, which is the main focus here at Vigneti Yumbaca. It is said that Cirò is one of Italy’s oldest named wine regions in Italywith a winemaking history stretching back thousands of years, it has a full DOC for the Red, white and Rosé (Rosato) and now the new Cirò Classico DOCG for Gaglioppo. The Gaglioppo grape, which was resurrected in recent years from obscurity is having a moment in the spotlight and is again one of the Southern Italian stars, making a stylish coastal red wine that is elegant, lively and in some ways more Pinot Noir like in bodied and gracefulness, though completely purely Italian. In the Cirò region of Calabria, Red wine makes up the vast majority of production. With the DOC for Rosé, a Cirò Rosso bottling must feature a minimum of 80 percent Gaglioppo, but can be mixed with other authorized red grapes providing the balance, and of this, only 10 percent may be Barbera, Sangiovese, the Cabernets Franc and Sauvignon, and/or Merlot. Before the DOC came into effect, the Rosato and Red wines tended to have a few white grapes blended in, but since the rules came into being that is not the case anymore. The South of Italy is a hot spot in the world of wine these days and Vigneti Vumbaca is a winery to watch, after tasting this wine and their fabulous Rosé, I am hoping they will be picked up by a US importer soon.
($28 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive