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90
MAY 2024
Garofoli “Kómaros” Montepulciano Rosato Marche IGT 2023
Minty herbs, wild strawberries and spice waft up from the 2023 Rosato Kómaros. Soothingly round and with a pretty inner sweetness, this builds in zesty tension through a mix of tart orchard fruits and brisk acidity. Chalky minerality defines the finish, as the 2023 tapers off with medium length and is remarkably fresh.
93
MARCH 2024
Garofoli “Podium” Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore DOC 2021
The 2021 Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Podium is delicate and coy, requiring coaxing to release its pretty bouquet of young peach, raw almonds and sweet smoke. This is elegant, with textures of pure silky and admirable weight, yet maintains marvelous energy throughout. Fresh acidity and saline minerals enliven its rich, ripe nectarine and pear core. The 2021 finishes long and staining, leaving a youthful tension as vanilla custard and candied citrus fade. While perfectly enjoyable today, this is a vintage for the cellar. It bears mentioning that the Podium is produced without any oak, only stainless steel and cement, so we are tasting pure fruit.
92
NOVEMBER 2022
Garofoli “Grosso Agontano” Cònero Riserva DOCG 2019
Pretty violet and lavender tones give way to musky blackberries and hints of cracked chalk as the 2019 Rosso Conero Riserva Agontano opens in the glass. This cool-toned beauty shows its minerality up front, as silky textures gain grip through a mix of tart, wild berry fruits and stimulating acidity. The 2019 tapers off with lip-smacking tension and grippy tannins, yet it’s packed full of zesty energy. The Agontano is a 100% Montepulciano that’s refined in second-pass barriques. This is a really beautiful expression of the variety, one that will need a short stay in the cellar to show its best.
90
JUNE 2021
Garofoli “Kómaros” Montepulciano Rosato Marche IGT 2020
The Montepulciano grape is considered one of Italy’s best grapes for Rosato wines. Garofoli’s Rosato boasts an orangish pink color and peach, Meyer lemon aromas with a saline note. In the mouth, the wine is lean and crisp with peach, citrus flavors that linger on the tongue. Pair it with grilled halibut or sushi. Innkeeper Antonio Garofoli, started making wines in 1871 to serve Christian Pilgrims visiting the Basilica della Santa Casa in the town of Loreto in the Marche region of Italy. In the early 1900s, his son, Gioacchino, created a winery and today, members of the fourth generation, brothers Carlo and Gianfranco Garofoli and their children run the winery. They specialize in Trebbiano and Montepulciano grapes with a smaller amount of Sangiovese and Trebbiano Toscano. The Piancarda vineyard is where they grow their best Montepulciano grapes, some destined for their Rosso Cònero DOC, and others specially grown for the Rosato.
93+
NOVEMBER 2022
Garofoli “Podium” Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore DOC 2020
The 2020 Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Podium is youthfully inward and coy at first, with a dusty florality and hints of cardamom in the glass. Swirling unlocks nuances of sage and rosemary, ginger and hints of smoky cracked stones, yet its fruit, leaning toward apricot, is still quite shy. Today, this impresses more on the palate, deeply savory and mineral in style, with a herbal twang and sour melon which place it firmly into the green fruit spectrum, all brilliantly offset by a saturating salty sensation. The palate is left reeling with spicy tension; the 2020 finishes structured, leaving the cheeks puckered and the mouth watering thanks to a late-arriving bump of zesty acidity. This will take some time to show its best, but it will be time well spent.
89
OCTOBER 2021
Garofoli “Serra del Conte” Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico DOC 2020
More savory than sweet and packed-full of crushed stone mineral tones and crisp green apple, the 2020 Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Serra del Conte makes itself known. While pleasantly ripe in style and soothing on the palate, this impresses more with its core of bright acidity that keeps the expression incredibly fresh and lifted. Hints of raw almond and orchard fruits linger long, as the cheeks pucker through the mouthwatering finale. I love the contrast of tension and ripeness here that makes the 2020 very easy to like.
94
OCTOBER 2021
Garofoli “Podium” Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore DOC 2019
At each tilt of the glass, the 2019 Podium reveals something new. Initially showing gingery spice, white smoke and yellow flower notes, it evolves into sour melon, young mango and wet stone aromas. Finally, it turns flinty, with crushed apples and raw almonds. The silky textures are almost glycerol-like, even though it is seemingly weightless in feel. It hovers above the senses while being propelled by vibrant acidity and saturating mineral tones, as ripe orchard fruits and inner florals cascade across the palate. It leaves you with an achingly youthful impression, the combination of structure and lingering notes of bitter grapefruit rind and granny smith apples. 2019 Podium is a classic in the making; and while it can be enjoyed today, the best is yet to come.
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.
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