Giovanna’s father died in the early 1990’s when Giovanna was still youg. She has had to learn about winemaking through trial and error over the past twenty years.
Goetz Dringeberg was a heart surgeon in Wiesbaden when he met Giovana, an architect (on the beach). They married in 2008 and he gave up his work as a surgeon to work in the vineyard.
The crus are an expression of their terroir
- Posau has argile calcaire
- Luvaira has marne argile rocks and higher, westerly facing vineyards (westerly is warmer and higher is cooler to compensate.) The wines have more black fruit, spicy and softer and ages best.
- Curli has crystal calcite, white soil near Perinaldo
- Brae near Bajardo at 480m.
Classico is a blend of all four crus and seven vineyards and is an expression of Rossese.
Three different clones of Rossese.
- Big berries
- Small berries
- Long bunches dark blue in colour
To plant new vines, Giovanna takes cuttings from her existing vines that she likes and sends them to the plant people who will graft them on to rootstocks.
7th March 2010 ristorante Aquadolce
2008: 14%. Roses, cedar, spices. On palette, floral ripe. Rosie: olives, juicy, floral, sweet. Ben: fruity, soft tannins (less tannic than usual) sweet. 17.5/20
21st May 2010
Posaú 2008: Big black juicy fruit. Intense. Nicely balanced. 15% alc. burn on end. Sweet fruit, dry wine, long and nicely balanced. 18/20
29th May 2010 Blind Tasting, Dolceacqua
2009: Deep ruby red. Green minty, leafy notes. Slight spritz – just bottled. Fresh, very good balance of ripe fruit and tannins all lifted by fresh acidity. Big black inky fruit and tannins coming through on finish. 18/20
Luvaira 2008: Blackcurrant pastilles. Very intense fruit. Firm, dry tannic finish. 18/20
Chosen not to do a 2009 Superiore as quality of the grapes was not good enough so put all in the ordinary wine – which maybe why it was a bigger wine than the 2010?
9th May 2011 Taggia
2010: Wild raspberry jam and spice. Rich and ripe. Good fresh acidity, firm but not dry tannins. Very easy drinking. Not as big and black as 2009 vintage. Very Zin like, wild raspberry and spicy.
22nd May 2011 Blind Tasting Bordighera
2010: Cherry red. Savoury herby aromas. Fresh savoury herby characters on palate. Long acidity, powerful and long with full bodied fruit. 13.5%. 17.5/20
23rd June 2012 Dolceacqua
Classico 2011 (14%) Rich black fruit, ripe jam with wild berry zippy fruit. Black chocolate and herbs. Fresh acidity, supple ripe tannins. Velvety. Fantastic – ticks all the boxes. Red fruit, black velvet, fresh and zippy. 18.5/20
Posaú 2010 Black berry fruit, supple tannins, silky, good wild berry ripe acidity. Suppleness is the key here – wild berries, black fruit, tannins and zippy freshness, beautifully integrated. Regarded as very typical. 18.5/20
Luvaira 2010 from high vineyard sites. Beautiful ripe red fruit. Fresh, clean red fruit. Wild berries. More astringent, but in a fresh acid way, balanced by ripe tannins. Very fresh. 18/20
7th July 2012 Rossese Style, Bajardo
Posaú 2010 – Lovely – big black ripe fruit. Juicy good, good, ripe tannins. 18.50/20
Luvaira 2010 – Soft – lost acidity?, lost focus? Black chocolate fruit. 15/20 NB notes very different from the proceeding tasting?
10th May 2013 San Biagio Cima
Posaú 2012 cask sample. Good tannins, good acidity, very structured and fruit still hidden. Slightly more raspberry fruit as a cooler year than 2011.
Luvaira 2012 cask sample. Black fruit, spicy, softer with good acidity and tannin structure.
Curli 2012 cask sample. Purple red colour – deepest colour compared to Posaú and Luvaira. Tannins very fine, full structure, very finely balanced. Spice and red fruit. 1st vintage.
Classico 2012. Spicey, fruity. good acidity and tannin structure but not the depth or intensity of the cru wines.
Brae 2012. Much lighter in colour, violets on aroma. Lighter weight, inky tannins. Drink cool with fish. 1st vintage.
Rosé 2012. Grapes picked early to keep acidity, during the first two weeks of September. Not the best grapes. Very soft pressing, very short maceration. Cold fermentation at 12C.
24th May 2014 Vinidimare
‘Serro Bandito’ sparkling wine. 100% Massarda – a difficult variety for cultivation, late ripening. Here old vines. Metodo classico – 1st vintage, dry, MLF. Pronounced toasty aromas, lees, autolysis. Good acidity but not long and fresh with aggressive acidity. Ripe apple fruit. Strong and structural an a little fat on the finish. NOT champagane but overal a good toasty character on nose and initial taste – just acidic on finish and lenght needed to really raise the wine to a greater level, but good start.
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