Carpineti Nzu Rosso 2020

‘NZÙ,’ meaning ‘together’ in the local dialect, is a tribute to one of Italy’s most ancient and elusive grapes: Nero Buono. Once nearly lost to time, this dark-skinned variety traces its origins to pre-Roman Lazio, with legend crediting its arrival in Corìto the fifth century BCE, when the statesman Cincinnato retired from battle to farm the land. Recent DNA studies confirmed what local growers long suspected, that Nero Buono has no known genetic relatives, making it one of Italy’s rarest truly indigenous grapes. Today, fewer than 300 acres remain under vine, nearly all around the town of Cori. The NZÙ bottling captures the ancient pulse of this variety through natural, elemental methods. Late-harvest Nero Buono grapes, grown biodynamically, are fermented spontaneously with native yeasts and matured in terracotta amphorae made from local Cori clay. The amphorae, ranging from 450 to 700 liters, breathe life into the wine while softening its natural rusticity. In the glass, NZÙ is both wild and refined: dark bramble fruit and blackberry compote wrapped in earthy spice and iron tones, lifted by a natural freshness. The texture is supple yet grounded, its tannins firm but now graceful. It’s a wine that bridges centuries, a living thread from Lazio’s forgotten past to its vibrant, enduring future. Drink now – 2030.

Situated on the lower slopes of the Lepini mountains in southeastern Lazio, around 50km south of Rome, the ancient hilltop village of Cori dates all the way back to the fourth century B.C. and was supposedly settled almost 300 years prior to the Italian capital. It is here that the Carpineti family have for generations now tended to a patchwork of grape vines, today led by current-day patriarch Marco Caprineti, who has guided the estate forward since taking the reins in 1986. Having converted the entire property to organic viticulture in the mid 1990s, Marco is now employing biodynamic principles both among his vines and in the cantina, with the estate also doubling as a ‘vine nursery’ of sorts, the vineyards playing home to some of the few plantings of obscure varietals like Nero Buono, Greco Moro, and Bellone still remaining anywhere in the country.