Balsamino Marche Rosso IGT Vini Venturi

Onno Kleyn in the Volkskrant and De Grote Hamersma give this wine a 9!

Onno Kleyn in de Volkskrant (9): “Roberto Venturi’s Balsamino is so incredibly different from what you expect from red wine. Light in hue, bursting with roses and lychees and all sorts of optimistic aromas that you would rather expect in a white wine, in gewürztraminer and, indeed, muscat. But then when you take a sip it turns out to be truly red after all, with the bite and (mild) tannins to match. Delightful surprise from Italy.”

A star wine in the Grote Hamersma 2019 (9): ‘Roberto Venturi makes great Verdicchio Castelli di Jesi. But two reds also appeared on the tasting table, including the Balsamino, a particularly pinkish lighter that is not bad either. Made from aleatico, a grape related to the perfumed muscat. Very special specimen, not too intrusive with that bunch of roses thankfully, but subtle. Serve lightly chilled.

Tasting note Balsamino Marche rosso

Bright and brilliant ruby red with purple hues. Fine and intense on the nose with a decisive floral component resembling rose. The taste is dry, warm and particularly balanced. The Balsamino Marche rosso IGP is made from a rare grape: aleatico. Balsamino goes well with fatty salami without garlic, spicy cheeses, pasta with red or processed with mushrooms or truffles, grilled red meat.

Sip out of politeness ended in celebration

At the great wine fair Vinitaly in 2016, we met winemaker Roberto Venturi. He invited us to taste his wines after we had been at the winemaker’s booth next door. Shrugging, we agreed. We had a long list of winemakers to visit at the fair. What started as a sip out of politeness ended in a party! We discovered some affordable top wines that we now import ourselves.

In addition to the Balsamino, we have other great wines from Roberto:

Desiderio Marche Bianco – witte wijn – white wine (Hamersma 8.5)
Qudi Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore DOCG – white wine (Hamersma 8.5 / Gambero Rosso 3 bicchieri)
Squarciafico Marche rosso IGP – red wine (Hamersma 8+)

About Vini Venturi

Azienda Vitivinicola Roberto Venturi is located in the village of Castelleone di Suasa. Roberto Venturi’s father started winemaking in the Marches (central Italy) in 1971. Until 10 years ago only for family and friends. Now Roberto produces beautiful wines that achieve the highest scores in the famous Italian wine guide Gambero Rosso. Roberto continues his father’s tradition of striving for high quality: yield reduction, double grape selection, first in the vineyard and then in the cellar, and strict controls throughout the production process.