2016 Amaranthi - Castello di Buttrio

Juicy sour cherry, bay leaf, tart red plum. Fresh red currants, damp earth, almost-ripe strawberry. Lovably bright and energetic bursts of goji berry, cranberry, and raspberry tea boom with outstanding juiciness and crunch as fresh herbal hints of basil, parsley, and oregano playfully enhance the expressive display. Wafts of hydrangeas and cherry blossoms meekly emerge to provide a range of pretty floral tones that dance in sync with intriguing earth impressions of iron, forest floor, and clay. Pleasant suggestions of aged leather and cellar funk impart a lightly gamey and distinctly old world feel while succeeding in complicating an attack that remains quite spirited and energetic despite its many layers. Wonderfully lively and outgoing on the palate with an exciting combination of primary freshness and tertiary development; exhibiting a unique and authentic flavor profile that is perfectly food friendly and authentic to place. Medium in body with surprisingly elevated tannin balanced flawlessly by high acidity. This 2016 "Amaranthi" by Castello di Buttrio is a wonderfully distinct and delicious red from Venezia Giulia.

Most notably used in the juicy and fruit driven wines of Beaujolais, Carbonic Maceration is a winemaking technique where fermentation takes place in a stainless steel tank that is filled with whole grape clusters and then pumped full of Carbon Dioxide to minimize oxygen exposure and maximize freshness. This bottling, crafted by Castello di Buttrio using Pignolo sourced from Venezia Giulia and fermented using Carbonic Maceration, brilliantly showcases a unique and unconventional expression of this popular winemaking technique. This wine initially pops with a wonderful range of bright and tart red fruits, yet from there the natural structure and savory components of the Pignolo grape really set it apart from most Carbonic wines. It is deep, complex, and multidimensional while remaining lighthearted and fun, and interestingly also appears extremely ageworthy given its youthfulness at 5 years of age. Yummy.