2023 Casale del Giglio, Bellone, Anthium, Lazio IGT Bianco, Italy.
I’ve been following Casale del Giglio for more than 15 vintages now, and these wines are always a treat, especially their Bellone white, made from this ancient and rare varietal that has been at home to the Lazio region for many hundreds of years and makes for a mineral driven, though richly textured white with medium/full palate and ripe orchard fruits. This 2023, tasted at this year’s Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri tasting in San Francisco, is a beauty with a lovely and inviting golden bright hue in the glass and layers of peach, lemony citrus, fig and melon fruits, as well as having a a mix of spices, white flowers, a touch of almond, exotic tropical mango notes and subtle creaminess. This wine is pure and elegant, but with a nice lively cut of acidity that lifts the flavors and provides just the right amount of tension to make this wine very attractive with a range of cuisine options. This wine, elevated from the basic version by its old vine, 60 plus years, concentration and richness and well worth the search in finding it, this Anthium and the Cesanese red are iconic Lazio offerings.
The highly regarded Casale del Giglio, as noted in prior reviews, was founded in 1967 by Dino Santarelli in virgin territory, after falling for the Agro Pontino valley in Lazio’s south called Latina near the ancient city of Satricum. He found a perfect place for viticultural exploration and Casale del Giglio has never looked back, making some of the most interesting wines from a vast selection of native and non-native varietals, like Cesanese and this Bellone as well as Viognier, Syrah and Petit Verdot. Casale del Giglio makes an eclectic array of whites and reds all of which are worth checking out, and all are fabulous values. The thick skinned and heat resistant Bellone grape, mentioned in literature by the likes of Pliny the Elder, has been in the Latium region since Roman times and enjoys this micro climate which has sandy soils, sea breezes from the Anzio coast and loads of hot Summer days that allows good ripening of these unique elongated plumb berries. After a brief skin maceration, the Bellone Anthium was gently and slow pressed and allowed to go through a natural fermentation and short lees aging in tank to promote transparency and keep its mineral nature. Again this was a fine showing of Casale del Giglio and I highly recommend these wines.
($30 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive