Garofoli only makes Grosso Agontano in years when the Piancarda vineyard earns it. Limestone-grown Montepulciano that clears the bar for Cònero DOCG rather than settling for the everyday designation. The 2019 is dark ruby edging toward garnet, all ripe cherry and delicate spice, with a little vanilla from the wood and a soft, velvety mid-palate that turns to cherry jam and licorice. It finishes long, and it finishes on its own terms. This is what Montepulciano does when someone waits for the right harvest.
Winemaker Notes
Grosso Agontano is the top-of-the-line Montepulciano wine from Garofoli. It is made only in the best years, when the harvest in the Piancarda vineyard is considered to be of superior quality, taking the higher classification of Cònero DOCG. The wine’s namesake, the grosso agontano, was one of the most important silver coins of medieval Italy, originally minted by the Maritime Republic of Ancona in the 13th century.
Tasting Notes
Dark ruby red tending to garnet. Intense and complex aromas of ripe red fruit, primarily cherry, along with delicate spice and vanilla notes from the wood. Soft, warm, and velvety, with flavors of cherry jam and licorice. Pronounced persistence.
Professional Ratings
92
VinousPretty 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.
89
Wine SpectatorA balanced, medium-bodied red, with supple tannins providing light, taut definition for plump flavors of black plum reduction, sun-dried cherry, marjoram, tea rose and spices. Juicy finish. Drink now through 2027.
About the Producer
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.
