Ka' Manciné

Dolceacqua is a small village in the extreme west of Liguria, close to the border with France. Rossese is a native grape grown in a very limited area on steep terraces made of schists and marls facing mostly East and South-East at altitudes between 300 and 450 meters above sea level. The very old and low yielding vines are planted at high density in the classic greek bush system. Maurizio Anfosso and Roberta Repaci own about 3 hectares of Rossese, in the Bevagna and Galeae vineyards. The Beragna vineyard was planted in 1876 on very steep terraces facing North-West on schists and marls, at an altitude of about 400 meters. While Galeae was replanted in 1998 on very similar soils, facing SE, just a bit more rich in organic substances which usually lead to more fleshy and fruity wines. Inside Galeae, Maurizio has selected a small parcel in the highest and southern facing part with shallower and more rocky soils, which shows a beautiful aromatic and balsamic character: it has been bottled under the name Ange’ (from Angelo, who planted the vineyard). Rossese di Dolceacqua has been considered a very important wine in the 19th century and until the first world war, but then due to the very high costs of production have been slowly forgotten. Gino Veronelli – the great wine writer who has driven the rebirth of Italian fine wines – used to consider Dolceacqua as the Italian Romanée.