Italy - Benevento

Fontana Blanc 2021

La Vinicola di Antonio Gismondi
On the nose, white flowers, exotic fruits, Mediterranean plants, garrigue, and maquis: Fontana is a fragrant, savory, and generous white wine. The retro-olfaction is very fruity. Opulent and powerful, this wine is known as a "falanghina beneventano," or a falanghina from Benevento. This means that it is produced in Benevento from the falanghina grape, a very old local variety that, in ancient times, formed the basis of the famous Falerna cru (falernum), then considered top-of-the-range. Fontana is obtained by direct pressing with fermentation in stainless steel vats. Round, low in acidity, very aromatic, with a lot of sweetness and opulence on the finish, it offers good aging qualities. This wine can be drunk now, but it will also be able to keep for a long time.

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The azienda of Antonio and Anabel Gismondi is located in Cerreto Sanita, in the Benevento region of Campania. A microclimate gives this area almost continental accents: the humid winds coming from the Tyrrhenian Sea collide with the first ramparts of the Apennine chain, causing condensation in the air and a drop in temperatures, which are significantly cooler and more humid than on the coast. If we add a phenomenon of thermal inversion between day and night frequent in the Apennine climate, the freshness of the wines of the Antonio Gismondi estate is nothing mysterious in this southern Italy, which is nevertheless known for its very hot climate. The estate is family-run: for generations, the Gismondi family has cultivated vines and made wine using the most traditional and natural methods, to which biodynamic techniques are added. For a long time, of the fifteen tons of grapes produced each year, one ton was reserved for on-site vinification for family consumption, the rest going to the local wine cooperative. It was the meeting with Massimo Marchiori and Antonella de Partida Creus [link] that decided Antonio and his wife Anabel to start producing natural wines at home from the entire harvest. The two-hectare vineyard is located between 350 and 380 meters above sea level, on clay, loam, and stony soils, with two-thirds facing south, planted with vines around six years old. The rest faces southwest and corresponds to the Pietre and Cerreto cuvées, with vines thirty years old. The grape varieties are Merlot, Freisa and Sangiovese for the reds, and Falanghina and Malvasia di Candia for the whites.

Foresta Blanc 2021

La Vinicola di Antonio Gismondi
From the outset, the palette is admired: a beautiful, intense amber color, and notes of bitter orange marmalade, spices, and fresh sage on both the nose and palate. Foresta is a powerful and robust wine, yet nuanced and sensitive. Marked by maceration, this orange wine offers a veritable explosion of tropical notes and warm spices on the nose, followed by a vibrant, mineral finish and a strong, dense body. Notes of orange peel, dried apricot, and ripeness are evident: this is more of an autumnal wine than a springtime one. Within the Azienda Gismondi repertoire, it represents the robust and structured side of the winery, while exhibiting the purity and freshness that characterize the estate. It comes from a site a little away from the azienda, at a lower altitude, where the Trebbiano Rosa grape variety grows on heavily clayey soils. This terroir, slightly heavier than that of the estate itself, gives the wine a denser, more intensely flavorful nuance that distinguishes it from wines produced at higher altitudes. Trebbiano Rosa makes up 50% of the blend, with Malvasia di Candia making up the remaining half. The manually harvested grapes macerate on the skins for two weeks in open-topped fiberglass vats, then, after pressing, the wine is transferred to stainless steel vats for aging for six to eight months. Bottled without filtration, sulfite, or additives.

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Antonio and Anabel Gismondi's azienda is located in Cerreto Sanita, in the Benevento region of Campania. A microclimate gives this area an almost continental feel: humid winds from the Tyrrhenian Sea collide with the first ramparts of the Apennine chain, causing condensation in the air and lowering temperatures, which are significantly cooler and more humid than on the coast. If we add a thermal inversion phenomenon between day and night, common in the Apennine climate, the freshness of the wines from the Antonio Gismondi estate is nothing mysterious in this southern Italy, which is nevertheless known for its very hot climate. The estate is family-run: for generations, the Gismondi family has cultivated vines and made wine using the most traditional and natural methods, to which are added biodynamic techniques. For a long time, of the fifteen tons of grapes produced each year, one ton was reserved for vinification on site for family consumption, the rest going to the local wine cooperative. It was the meeting with Massimo Marchiori and Antonella of Partida Creus [link] that led Antonio and his wife Anabel to decide to start producing their own natural wines from the entire harvest. The two-hectare vineyard is located between 350 and 380 meters above sea level, on clay, loam, and stony soils, with two-thirds facing south, planted with vines around six years old. The rest faces southwest and corresponds to the Pietre and Cerreto cuvées, with vines thirty years old. The grape varieties are Merlot, Freisa, and Sangiovese for the reds, and Falanghina and Malvasia di Candia for the whites.

Cerreto Blanc 2021

La Vinicola di Antonio Gismondi
The nose is marked by citrus (lemon zest), as is the palate: the citrus lingers, the minerality asserts itself. Cerreto, named in homage to the town where it was born, will be a good companion to seafood, shellfish, and raw fish. It is a lively and fresh white wine with a pale yellow color and an acidic, lemony nose with notes of white flowers: gardenia, jasmine, and orange blossom. Cerreto is made entirely from Malvasia di Candia vines, a grape variety also known as Uva di Cerreto. It is a very old local grape variety, even said to be indigenous, a clone of Malvasia di Candia. The vines grow on clay-limestone plots facing southwest. The harvest, carried out manually, undergoes a skin maceration of four or five days in stainless steel vats, followed by pressing and aging for six to ten months, also in stainless steel vats to preserve the purity of the fruit. No sulfites are added, no filtration.

Find out more

Antonio and Anabel Gismondi's azienda is located in Cerreto Sanita, in the Benevento region of Campania. A microclimate gives this area an almost continental feel: humid winds from the Tyrrhenian Sea collide with the first ramparts of the Apennine mountain range, causing condensation in the air and lowering temperatures, which are significantly cooler and more humid than on the coast. If we add a phenomenon of thermal inversion between day and night, common in the Apennine climate, the freshness of the wines from the Antonio Gismondi estate is nothing mysterious in this southern Italy, which is nevertheless known for its very hot climate. The estate is family-run: for generations, the Gismondi family has cultivated vines and made wine using the most traditional and natural methods, to which biodynamic techniques are added. For a long time, of the fifteen tons of grapes produced each year, one ton was reserved for on-site vinification for family consumption, the rest going to the local wine cooperative. It was the meeting with Massimo Marchiori and Antonella de Partida Creus [link] that decided Antonio and his wife Anabel to start producing natural wines at home from the entire harvest. The two-hectare vineyard is located between 350 and 380 meters above sea level, on clay, loam, and stony soils, with two-thirds facing south, planted with vines around six years old. The rest faces southwest and corresponds to the Pietre and Cerreto cuvées, with vines thirty years old. The grape varieties are Merlot, Freisa and Sangiovese for the reds, and Falanghina and Malvasia di Candia for the whites.