Coutandin, Ramie - 2021

Daniele Coutandin joined his father Giuliano on a mission to rehabilitate local near-abandoned vineyards and revive a particular wine (a blend of Piemonte indigenous varietals) that was so delicious, Cardinal Richelieu was shipping it to Paris in the 16th Century. That wine has since been brought back to life - a blend of Avana, Avarengo, Chatus, and Bequet, whose vines reside on such steep slopes a monorail had to be built to harvest! Still, Daniele perseveres and successfully tends his insanely steep sites organically (no official cert since he only produces 4000 btls/yr) and creates a gorgeous, albeit slightly mysterious, red wine with notes of violet, dried herbs, black plum and blackberry, and beautifully integrated sandy tannins. Experiment with some new grapes and pair this bottle with pasta with spicy Italian sausage.