Fiorano Rosso 2010, wine from Rome

La Tenuta di Fiorano, located near the Via Appia Antica, is a particularly beautiful corner of the Roman countryside at the foot of the Castelli Romani. The volcanic soils, with good drainage and rich in minerals, and the relatively close proximity to the sea make these places ideal for vine cultivation.

The estate was founded in the first half of the last century by Prince Alberico Boncompagni Ludovisi, who – like Mario Incisa della Rocchetta in Tuscany, the creator of Sassicaia, and with the consultancy of Tancredi Biondi Santi of Tenuta il Greppo in Montalcino – decided to plant Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot to produce Fiorano Rosso, the winery's first wine.

He subsequently came into contact with Luigi Veronelli, who praised his wines and above all the Fiorano Rosso. A red wine of very elegant and complex structure, capable of sustaining aging while gaining in finesse. The estate quickly became a benchmark of the highest order for Roman wine, one of the few wineries where truly exceptional quality was being made across all of Lazio.

Production ceased in 1998 when the Prince suddenly decided to uproot almost all the vineyards. However, the following year he transferred Tenuta di Fiorano to a cousin, Prince Paolo Boncompagni Ludovisi, who together with his son Alessandrojacopo began managing the wine estate. Paolo and Alessandrojacopo acquired Alberico's planting rights and faithfully followed his guidelines on the clones to use and on the organic management of the new vineyard, through to the winemaking operations in the cellar. Today, following the definitive transfer of ownership, Tenuta di Fiorano extends over more than 200 hectares, which, in addition to the vineyard, includes the olive grove, arable farmland, pasture, and the historic cellar.

The vines have been trained using the counter-espalier system, pruned to spur cordon. The south-west to north-east exposure allows for perfect sunlight throughout the vineyard during the day. The winds blowing in from the sea and the hills of the Castelli help preserve the integrity of the grapes. In addition to Fiorano Rosso, the wine we are discussing today, the estate produces another red wine, Fioranello Rosso, and two whites, Fiorano Bianco and Fioranello Bianco.

Fiorano Rosso is made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes. To this day, after manual harvesting, the grapes are pressed by hand. The winemaking stages take place in the old cellar. The wine then flows by gravity into the Cantina Storica, where it undergoes aging in traditional 10-hectoliter Slavonian oak casks followed by an extended rest in bottle.

Deep and vivid ruby in color, the wine is concentrated and full-bodied. The aromatic profile is complex and layered, opening with juniper berry and balsamic notes, followed by deep and austere tones of humus, moss, and liquorice root. In the background, ripe red fruit of blueberries and cassis, hints of green pepper, and a finish of undergrowth, graphite, and cinchona of great beauty. On the palate it reveals itself slowly – immediately soft with silky tannins, then showing its exuberant acidity and its more austere character rooted above all in its minerality, with returns of liquorice and flint that trace a long and coherent finish.

It is a great red wine – rich, elegant, with complex structure and a pleasing persistence. It has a long life ahead of it and can be enjoyed over the next 15 years with confidence in its favorable evolution over time. Certainly worth trying alongside a great roast.