2021 Ruscum

Nuns making natty wine. It’s a thing. This amber wine is a blend of local white varietals: Trebbiano, Malvasia del Lazio and Verdicchio, wild fermented separately for about 3 weeks with no temperature control. ‘Ruscum’ comes from the same vineyards and the same harvest as its little sister ‘Coenobium’, but with a little extra time on the skins (around 14 days), and definitely a leveling-up of intensity. Dried pears, sage, baked apple and hazelnuts are forever present, with hints of black teas...Read More...

Nuns making natty wine. It’s a thing. This amber wine is a blend of local white varietals: Trebbiano, Malvasia del Lazio and Verdicchio, wild fermented separately for about 3 weeks with no temperature control. ‘Ruscum’ comes from the same vineyards and the same harvest as its little sister ‘Coenobium’, but with a little extra time on the skins (around 14 days), and definitely a leveling-up of intensity. Dried pears, sage, baked apple and hazelnuts are forever present, with hints of black teas, dried apricot, anise, and honey and a penetrating mineral salinity. Ruscum possesses a density that belies its lithe body and gentle disposition but what is most notable is the grip of fine tannins that continually, pleasantly nip at your gums, both beautifully drying and lingering. It's difficult to find skin-macerated white wines that pull off this level of balance, detail, and drinkability – while maintaining an air of gotta-have-another-glass mystery – and Ruscum does so with aplomb. 

About an hour north of Rome, the sisters of the Monastero Suore Cistercensi craft holy grape water, obeying the Benedictine principle of 'ora et labora’ (pray and work). The 80 (or so) women farm organically 5ha of vineyards, orchards and gardens, and vinify using indigenous yeasts – all without any machinery.

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