Rossese

Rossese owes its name to the rocks on which its roots are heroically grafted. It is the noblest red grape in Liguria and, although of French origin and brought to the area by the Doria family, it is now considered to be fully indigenous to the Imperia area, in particular to the district of Dolceacqua in the hinterland of Ventimiglia. Of limited production and low yields, rossese is still grown in old, knotty sapling vines that have acclimatised well to the inaccessible soils of this strip of the Riviera di Ponente, up to 600 metres above sea level. The wine has a ruby-red colour tending to garnet with evolution; when young, the vinous bouquet is intense but delicate, with hints of rose, violet and currants, while with ageing it takes on a denser and darker profile, with hints of spices, tobacco, rhubarb. On the palate it is often velvety, never over-bodied, indeed elegant in its rustic nature, with fine tannins and a slight bitterness on the finish. It likes ageing in wood in the highest quality reserves.