Ippolito, Calabrise

Alcohol percentage: 14.5%

Area:
Calabria is the ‘toe’ on the Italian map and this is from just outside Ciro on the instep.

Grape variety:
Made from the Calabrese grape, which some say is the same as Nero D’Avola, but Ippolito claim to have the only few hectares in existence. The wine is fermented and matured in steel tanks – no need for oak to add any more intensity to the latent, natural power of these grapes.

Producer:
Founded in 1845, now a fifth-generation family-owned estate, with about 100 hectares of vineyards in total.

The Bottle Shop rating:
Great to find a southern Italian red with plenty of richness but no sweetness or heavy-handed use of oak.