We are delighted to shine a little spotlight on one of our longest producer friendships and collaborations, Lamoresca. I first met Filippo Rizzo of all places at Villa Favorita, circa 2009. He was jammed in a tiny corner of the cryptic lower level of the natural wine fair and had 2 wines on his table...a Frappato and a simple "Rosso". SelectioNaturel didn't exist yet but it was on my mind and certainly in the works as I learned more and more about the natural wine landscape of that period. Needless to say, Filippo and I struck up a conversation and luckily he remembered me when we reconnected a few weeks later as I hatched plans to become a wine importer. From then on Filippo has been a close friend, someone I chat regularly with not just about wine but about life, the state of the world, cyclocross racing and cooking. His wines have been a mainstay in our portfolio since day one...that's over 12 years at this point and many amazing vintages of Lamoresca wines!
Filippo is a journeyman. The type of person that does everything with a thoughtful, mindful purpose. He carries with him a long term vision of his farm, his wines, his life and allows the seasons of hard work to be reflected through his wines. Filippo has worked the humble piece of land that was his father's for the past 18+ years, clearing brush, planting native wines, tending to centuries old olive and carob trees all while tinkering in his cellar with his right hand man Gaetano. To say there has been progress is an understatement. Filippo's wines have always evolved and he's always had a clear idea of what he loves in wines (not just his but many others in the wine world) and uses each harvest, each racking, each tank or barrel to learn something new and take another step in that journey.
And that leads us to today, the debut of two exciting new cuvee's that Filippo has been working on for several years: Nero & Elsa.
Back in September our "national sales guru", Eric Brown, got to visit with Filippo while he was traveling through Sicily en route to Pantelleria to celebrate his anniversary with his wife Carrie. Any chance to see Filippo is an amazing opportunity and Eric was able to spend some quality time with Filippo while he showed them the new and exciting evolution of the Lamoresca farm. So, below you will find Eric's words about his visit and the new wines.
After a little R&R in Sicily during early September, Carrie and I drove from Catania to Lamoresca for a special visit with Filippo Rizzo. It had been four and half years since we had seen the beautiful rolling hills of his farm outside of San Michele di Ganzaria and much has changed at Lamoresca since then. Filippo is a humble but proud farmer and was eager to show us a piece of land that he purchased shortly after our previous visit. You can see the property prominently from the terrace at Lamoresca, looking northeast toward the mountains. After a quick snack, we hopped in Filippo's truck for a little off-road adventure to see it up close.
The property was owned by an old farmer who lived there alone working the land to produce prickly pears and olives. After 15 years of cajoling from Filippo and fighting through some Sicilian red tape, he eventually sold Filippo the property. It sits high up on Monte Stagno in the Contrada Elsa and it's a magnificent place covered in prickly pear cacti, ancient olive groves, wild herbs and stark, statuesque cliffs of pure silex. Filippo has planted a small alberello parcel of Catarratto on silex and clay soil along with several parcels of Frappato and a bit of Nero d'Avola. He was especially proud to show us a parcel of Frappato that he planted in the spring after weeks spent clearing brush from the property. This parcel is planted amongst the prickly pear cacti with two rows of Frappato between each row/thicket of cacti and it is a wild and glorious sight to see. There is an old farmhouse that Filippo is painstakingly restoring along with an old stone stable that will be a future tasting room and small agriturismo. Just above the farmhouse Filippo showed us an ancient variety of large pearly white olives that grow wild on the property and are of Greek origin most likely introduced during their colonization of Sicily.and southern Italy. The big challenge for Filippo this year (and many other growers throughout Italy) was the lack of water. Without rain for a large portion of the year, many of his new plantations suffered from hydric stress and a good many did not survive. After working with a geologist who concluded that it might not be possible, Filippo started working with a sensitive/shaman who has water-dowsed the property and believes that there is in fact water 100 meters below the surface on the back side of the hill.
While there were many surprises throughout the new property, there were a couple back at the cantina as well. Filippo's journey as a winemaker has led him to crafting wines that speak to this special place and stand the test of time, irrespective of winemaking styles and trends. To that end he made two beautiful riserva red wines starting in the 2019 vintage that were aged for an extended period; Elsa and Nero. We also got to taste the new 2021 Lamoresco Bianco and 2021 Lamoresca Rosso out of the tank as they were waiting to be bottled and shipped to us a few weeks later. The 2021 Bianco was showing real depth,concentration and freshness, but the 2021 Vino Rosso was a real showstopper with explosive aromatics and a purity of fruit and texture that was seriously impressive and Filippo was equally excited about it.
2019 Elsa is a blend of 60% Nerello Mascalese, 20% Frappato and 20% Nero d'Avola with the idea of producing a red wine with three different soil types; iron-rich clay, sand and limestone and three different grape varieties. Each received three weeks of maceration on the skins and aged for a year in concrete tanks and another two years in the bottle.
2019 Nero is a tribute to arguably the most important and widely planted red grape in Sicily. It's a variety that has often fallen victim to poor vinification in clunky, industrially made wines. Nero Rosso has power but also freshness thanks in part to the large diurnal shift in temperature of this area. It is 100% Nero d'Avola that comes from a 20 year old parcel in sandy soil. The grapes get two months of maceration on the skins before aging for a year in concrete tanks and another two years in the bottle.
-Eric
