Bertolani Alfredo Lambrusco Scuro

$25.00

Cantina Bertolani has made Lambrusco in Scandiano, in the hills of Reggio Emilia, since 1925, and the fourth generation runs it now. Scuro is their old-school bottling: a dry Lambrusco dell'Emilia IGT refermented in the bottle, the way farmhouse Lambrusco was made before tank fizz took over. Long skin contact gives the deep ruby color the name refers to, a light sediment is part of the deal, and it lands at 11.5%. Dark, dry, tannic, and nothing like supermarket Lambrusco.

Intense ruby with lively foam. Wild berries, vegetal notes and light leather on the nose. Bone dry on the palate, firmly tannic, with real structure and a clean, austere finish.

Gnocco fritto and salumi, baked lasagna, cotechino, roasts, or anything grilled or fried. Serve it cellar-cool.

Bertolani farms hillside and foothill vineyards in the Colli di Scandiano, lean clay-lime soils that give more structured, sapid Lambrusco than the plains below. The family built a new low-impact winery in 2008 with solar power and rainwater recovery.