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January 4, 2012

Brrrrr.  All I want to do is drink big lush reds and nap.  Last night I cracked a bottle of Villa Malacari 2007 Rosso Conero ($18), and hot damn, I felt like I struck gold!  I love this wine…  I swear, it seems like every time I drink a 2007 from Europe, I fall in love with wine all over again.   Villa Malacari’s Rosso Conero is 100% Montepulciano aged in casks.  This big, rustic red is loaded with gobs of dark berry (cherry) fruit, spices, and a twang of licorice(?).  Lush and delicious… I can’t wait to get home and finish the bottle. Don’t believe me?  Here’s what the Wine Advocate has to say:  The Wine Advocate89 PointsThe 2007 Rosso Conero, 100% Montepulciano aged in cask, is a fabulous wine. Waves of succulent dark fruit emerge from a soft, mid-weight frame. Villa Malacari’s delicious, mouth-filling Rosso Conero delivers incredible quality for the money. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2012. More on the Region:  Rosso Conero is a wine appellation in the central part of the Marche region of Italy just south of Ancona on the slopes of Monte Conero. The red wine made here is based on the Montepulciano grape which must comprise 85% of the wine. If another grape is used, it is commonly Sangiovese.  In this case however, the wine is 100% Montepulciano… More on MALACARI:  The roots of wine production in Conero (located in the middle of the Marche) date back to the 10th century BC, during the Etruscan period. Compared to that, the Malacari family’s 500 years in the region seems rather brief. The family produces wine from their 16 hectares of Montepulciano vineyards in the town of Offagna, known for its sandy and limestone soil. The geographical reference point of the production area is side of Mt. Conero facing the Adriatic Sea, to the south-east of Ancona, and the degrading hillsides. The climate, characterized by dry summers and mild autumns, helps a lot in the production of the unmistakable red nectar. In the middle of the Marche, along the coast of the Adriatic Sea, lies Offagna, a small agricultural community, located on the highest of the charming hills that surround Monte Conero, 18 kilometres from the sea. The Malacari farm has ancient origins in the region. It is mentioned as far back as 1400; but it is in the year 1668 that Andrea Malacari built the “Villa Malacari” with its cellars and its oil mill, at the gates of the medieval hamlet. In the 15 hectares of privately-owned vineyards which fortunately face the midday sun, the Montepulciano grape is carefully grown for the Rosso Conero D.O.C. The grapes, picked when ripe, are vinified under the cap vaults of the 17th century wine cellar and the wines are refined in the small casks and oak barrels in the wine cellar and in the caves excavated in the tufa of Villa Malacari.

Brrrrr.  All I want to do is drink big lush reds and nap.  Last night I cracked a bottle of Villa Malacari 2007 Rosso Conero ($18), and hot damn, I felt like I struck gold!  I love this wine…  I swear, it seems like every time I drink a 2007 from Europe, I fall in love with wine all over again.  

Villa Malacari’s Rosso Conero is 100% Montepulciano aged in casks.  This big, rustic red is loaded with gobs of dark berry (cherry) fruit, spices, and a twang of licorice(?).  Lush and delicious… I can’t wait to get home and finish the bottle.

Don’t believe me?  Here’s what the Wine Advocate has to say: 

The Wine Advocate89 PointsThe 2007 Rosso Conero, 100% Montepulciano aged in cask, is a fabulous wine. Waves of succulent dark fruit emerge from a soft, mid-weight frame. Villa Malacari’s delicious, mouth-filling Rosso Conero delivers incredible quality for the money. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2012.

More on the Region:  Rosso Conero is a wine appellation in the central part of the Marche region of Italy just south of Ancona on the slopes of Monte Conero. The red wine made here is based on the Montepulciano grape which must comprise 85% of the wine. If another grape is used, it is commonly Sangiovese.  In this case however, the wine is 100% Montepulciano…

More on MALACARI:  The roots of wine production in Conero (located in the middle of the Marche) date back to the 10th century BC, during the Etruscan period. Compared to that, the Malacari family’s 500 years in the region seems rather brief. The family produces wine from their 16 hectares of Montepulciano vineyards in the town of Offagna, known for its sandy and limestone soil. The geographical reference point of the production area is side of Mt. Conero facing the Adriatic Sea, to the south-east of Ancona, and the degrading hillsides. The climate, characterized by dry summers and mild autumns, helps a lot in the production of the unmistakable red nectar.

In the middle of the Marche, along the coast of the Adriatic Sea, lies Offagna, a small agricultural community, located on the highest of the charming hills that surround Monte Conero, 18 kilometres from the sea. The Malacari farm has ancient origins in the region. It is mentioned as far back as 1400; but it is in the year 1668 that Andrea Malacari built the “Villa Malacari” with its cellars and its oil mill, at the gates of the medieval hamlet. In the 15 hectares of privately-owned vineyards which fortunately face the midday sun, the Montepulciano grape is carefully grown for the Rosso Conero D.O.C. The grapes, picked when ripe, are vinified under the cap vaults of the 17th century wine cellar and the wines are refined in the small casks and oak barrels in the wine cellar and in the caves excavated in the tufa of Villa Malacari.

Notes: 3   Tags: Rosso Conero, Montepulciano, cold weather reds, wine, .