BEST BUY. Fresh watermelon with bruised mint and savory herbs all work in concert to draw your attention to the fresh and vibrant palate. Tart and crisp with mixed red fruits, dried wildflowers and sea salt on the mouthwatering palate.
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The city of Loreto in Marche is the site of the Basilica della Santa Casa, one of the most important Christian pilgrimage sites during the Middle Ages and still among the most visited pilgrimage churches today. The basilica was built around a small house that is said to be the very structure in which the Virgin Mary was born and where Jesus was conceived and raised. According to tradition, the house was flown out of Nazareth in Palestine by angels before that city fell to Muslim forces during the Crusades, and it eventually wound up at the current location in Loreto. As such, untold thousands of the faithful have traveled from far and wide to see and pray at the Santa Casa (Holy House) over the centuries.
The pilgrims who came to Loreto were some of the world’s first mass tourists, and like the tourists of today, they needed places to stay and to eat. Inns and taverns sprang up around the pilgrimage sites to serve the needs of the visitors. In Loreto, along the main road entering the town from the north, one such inn was owned by Antonio Garofoli in the mid-19th century. In 1871, Garofoli began making wine to quench the pilgrims’ temporal thirst, beginning a long family tradition. Thirty years later, his son Gioacchino founded a full-scale winery operation. The winery expanded commercially after World War II as Casa Vinicola Gioacchino Garofoli with national and European distribution beginning in 1950.
The winery is now run by the fourth and fifth generations—brothers Carlo and Gianfranco Garofoli and their three children Gianluca, Caterina, and Beatrice. Garofoli today has four family-owned vineyards totaling 128 acres: at the family’s base in Castelfidardo outside Loreto, in the Castelli di Jesi growing area for Verdicchio in Montecarotto, in Paterno in the Rosso Cònero denomination, and the Piancarda vineyard within the Mount Cònero Regional Nature Park. The family also buys grapes from growers who have sold their entire output to Garofoli for many years. There are two production facilities, at Castelfidardo and Montecarotto.
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LOCATIONWINERY: Main winery in Castelfidardo (Ancona province), Marche; Verdicchio winery in Serra de’ Conti (Ancona province), Marche VINEYARD: Montecarotto (Jesi area), Paterno and Piancarda (Mount Cònero area), and Castelfidardo (near Loreto), all in Ancona province, Marche VIEW IN GOOGLE MAPS REGION DETAILS |
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92
APRIL 2024
Garofoli “Kómaros” Montepulciano Rosato Marche IGT 2022
BEST BUY. Fresh watermelon with bruised mint and savory herbs all work in concert to draw your attention to the fresh and vibrant palate. Tart and crisp with mixed red fruits, dried wildflowers and sea salt on the mouthwatering palate. 91
AUGUST 2022
Garofoli “Podium” Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore DOC 2019
Pear and lemon meringue with pithy note. Long-lasting flavors with rich, nutty fruit and extravagantly textured. Good intensity and length. 92
APRIL 2020
Garofoli “Grosso Agontano” Cònero Riserva DOCG 2015
A pure expression of Montepulciano, the 2015 Conero Riserva Grosso Agontano opens to a thick and heavy center of gravity and a dense core of black fruit aromas. This is a structured wine with a firm tannic backbone that gives support to large-scale aromas of blackberry preserves, cherry confit, toasted nut and barbecue smoke. This wine ages in barrique for 12 months, and you definitely feel the toast. Some 15,000 bottles were made. 90
MAY 2024
Garofoli “Piancarda” Rosso Cònero DOC 2021
A peppery burst of wild herbs, chalk dust and crushed blackberries defines the 2021 Rosso Conero Piancarda. This is silky-smooth and round, with ripe red and blue fruits swirling across a vibrant acidity stream. Crunchy mineral tones add form to the finish, and fine tannins and a black licorice tang gradually fade. The Piancarda is a varietal Montepulciano. 91
OCTOBER 2021
Garofoli “Grosso Agontano” Cònero Riserva DOCG 2018
Dusty violets, roses, incense wild herbs and wet stone lift up to form a perfumed display as the 2018 Conero Riserva Grosso Agontano blossoms in the glass. The Agontano is silky and refined, contrasting ripe red berries and sweet spice with saline-mineral tones and brisk acidity. This leaves the palate with a coating of fine tannins, yet it remains energetic, savory and almost salty in character, with a hint of black licorice that lingers long. The 2018 Agontano will only require minimal cellaring to show well, and, although quite balanced and pretty, it should be enjoyed sooner rather than later. SEPTEMBER 2021
Garofoli “Podium” Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore DOC 2019
90
MAY 2024
Supèra Verdicchio di Matelica DOC 2022
The 2022 Verdicchio di Matelica Supera opens with a delicate blend of young peaches offset by lime zest and wet stone. It's soft-textured yet saline in character with tart lemon and orange tones that add a reverberation of tension as tropical inner florals form toward the close. The 2022 finishes with a staining length yet fresh, leaving hints of young mango and kiwi remaining. The Supera is Garofoli’s interpretation of Matelica, which impresses me for its combination of tropical sensations and stern minerality. 90+
NOVEMBER 2022
Garofoli “Piancarda” Rosso Cònero DOC 2020
The 2020 Rosso Conero Piancarda, a varietal Montepulciano, lifts from the glass with a dusty mix of dried roses, red currants and hints of nectarine that form a truly inviting bouquet. This is silky and elegant, nearly creamy in feel, yet elevated and cool-toned, with mineral-laced wild berries and a salty flourish that adds a savory sensation toward the close. The 2020 leaves a coating of fine tannins, as inner florals arch across the palate, and a caking of minerality slowly fades away. The warm vintage has imparted an extra suave character here, yet the Piancarda’s structure and acidity are nicely balanced and should promote medium-term cellaring. Lose a few bottles in the cellar; you’ll thank me later. |