2024 Vigneti Vumbaca, Cirò Rosato, Cirò DOC, Calabria, Italy.
I tasted something extraordinary at the recent Slow Wine event in San Francisco, a completely under the radar dry Rosè wine from the Cirò region, Calabria’s historic wine region on the Ionian coast made from the ancient local Gaglioppo grape. A friend of mine in the Italian wine trade turned me on to Vigneti Vumbaca and wanted to see my reaction to their Gaglioppo reds especially, which were really good, along with their Greco Bianco whites, but this Cirò Rosato was the star! This wine clearly was just meant to add a little something extra to the winery’s lineup, but in a happy and surprising way this wine reached beyond its humble beginnings and is magic in the glass with an exceptionally long and intriguing finish, even more so than the impressive reds here, carrying crisp mineral details and lip smacking sour cherry, strawberry, crushed briar laced raspberry and citrus preserves into that long aftertaste. Lovely delicate florals, saline, wet stone and exotic spicy accents add to the allure here in this Calabrian treat. This is by far the best best and most interesting Italian Rosè wines I’ve tried in years, but sadly there is no plans as of yet for the importer to bring the Rosato to the United States, which is a real shame. 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.
It is said that Cirò is one of Italy’s oldest named wine regions with 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. Vigneti Vumbaco is almost totally Gaglioppo, 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. I’m bummed that there is none of this stuff (Rosato) in the States, but will also say, the reds and the white made by Vigneti Vumbaca are worth chasing down and this is now a winery on my watch list!
($25 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive