Castello Conti 2016 'Il Rosso Delle Donne' Boca DOC

Castello Conti 2016 'Il Rosso Delle Donne' Boca DOC

Item Number: 15473

UPC: None

Country: Italy
Region: Piedmont
Sub Region: Alto Piemonte
Appellation/AVA: Boca DOC
Estate Grown Wine: Yes
Vintage: 2016
Grape(s): 75% Nebbiolo / 20% Vespolina / 5% Uva Rara
Type: Wine - Red
Bottle Size: 750 ml
Pack: 12
Closure: Cork
Alc by Vol(%): 13
Residual Sugar(g/L): < 5 g/l
Viticulture: Practicing Biodynamic
Soil Type: Volcanic soil containing red porphyry rocks
Elevation: 420 to 450 meters

Vineyard Notes: The grapes for this wine came from two vineyards in Maggiora, from vines trained in Guyot approximating 35-40 years in age. Harvest is manual, usually in early October.

Winemaking Notes: Following total destemming, wines fermented spontaneously in 17-50-hl stainless-steel tanks and open-top tini. Cuvaison lasted 30 days and the wine was pressed in a vertical basket press. Fermentation, including malolactic, occurred spontaneously with indigenous yeast in stainless steel. The wine was then transferred to used barrels of 500-liters and larger to age for three years. No sulfites were added at any stage until a minimal dose (30mg/l) at bottling. The 'Il Rosso Delle Donne' was filtered with coarse filter pads before being bottle aged for 7-10 months.

Tasting Notes: Conti’s spellbinding Boca Il Rosso Delle Donne ("the red from the women") presents an apparent paradox: how can a wine so charming, so exuberant, be simultaneously so majestic? The sisters’ fruit, supremely healthy and unfettered by over-extraction or excessive sulfur, evokes wild mountain berries—the kind you want to consume by the handful, bellyache be damned—and ripe, sappy black cherries that stain the mouth and hands. The acidity is wide-eyed and playful, bracing without being nerve-tweaking. At the same time, the complexity of the zone’s soils (volcanic porphyry, iron-rich clay, quartz, limestone, sand) brings to bear a finely wrought, multilayered minerality that is both detailed and imposing—like classical sculpture in its equilibrium of heft and subtlety. Rarely will one encounter a Nebbiolo-based wine that so deftly combines such harmonious drinkability with such a tightly structured elemental latticework, and this wine should drink beautifully at every stage of its long life (it is exceptionally accessible even now). It represents the clear pinnacle of the sisters’ work to date, and it is one of the most monumental young wines we have ever encountered from the Alto Piemonte.

93 Points (2015 Vintage) Vinous Magazine, 9/29/2020
"2015 Boca Il Rosso delle Donne is striking. Deep, rich and beautifully layered, yet also light on its feet, the Rosso delle Donne shows how much of what makes Boca so appealing. Sweet red cherry, pomegranate, rose petal, lavender and spice are all laced together. The 2015 is pliant and supple, with impeccable balance, all in a mid-weight, translucent style that is wonderfully enticing."

Reviews

  • The Feiring Line
    Rating: NR (2/2/2021)

    The 2016 is the first vintage Elena Conti fermented and aged the Boca in a conical wooden tank. Of course 2016 is a beautiful vintage but the change still seems to have had an effect on the tannin structure. It’s finer. The balance is rounder with a lacy breeze and a fresher dollop of fruit, bits of rose and licorice. It’s easier to drink now, but the tannins still reflect their vintage and heritage.