2022 ICARO Schicchera Rosato Carbonico

WINEMAKER: Rocco, Luca, Gianmarco & Fabio
REGION: Lazio, IT
VARIETY: Nero Buono
VITICULTURE: Organic/Biodynamic

“/Schic•che•rà•re/ drink often and abundantly wine or liqueurs ≈ raise your elbow, drink, drank ≈ get drenched, put your hair down, gulp. La Schicchera is a rosé with compulsive drinking. It is for partying and revelry, for noisy dinners, crowded clubs and summer nights. We use Trebbiano, Malvasia and Nero Buono in full-cluster carbonic maceration in steel to load the aromatic bomb and explode the most fruity and intense characters of the grapes. Subtle tannins, freshness, lots of acidity and the impetuousness of youth. The Schicchera is agile, quick and immediate. To drink in a flash!”

ICARO Vino is a small but immensely exciting project by friends Rocco, Luca, Gianmarco and Fabio. Their mission statement is to revitalise and reintroduce the world to the wines of Romani Castelli (Roman Castles). The region was once where the nobility of Rome would holiday and where a great deal of wine was once produced and enjoyed by the Roman population. The wines were a favourite of the Poet Horace (65-8BC) and he even stated that they were so extraordinary that they loosened the statesman Cato’s (234-149BC) rigid and otherwise unwavering moral feelings.

The site itself is one of sheer beauty, a single vineyard near Velletri, surrounded by a 250 Ha natural monument of wild forest, huge oaks, maples and cyclamen. The soil is volcanic, composed of clay and a small percentage of sand (pozzolana), in an area particularly rich in tuff. In the vineyard, homeopathic treatments such as propolis and molasses are used to attract insects that carry yeasts. Farming is organic and everything from grape to bottle is done by hand. The little-known indigenous grape ‘Nero Buono’ is the hero here, with the white wine being made from Malvasia di Candia and Trebbiano.