A lovely, gentle, unadorned wine that is an expression of the monastic life of the people who produce it, from equal proportions of the grape varieties Ciliegiolo and Sangiovese cultivated in the area around the Monastery. The wine undergoes a 15-day natural fermentation without any forced stabilization.
Despite a two-week maceration, “Benedic” is typically a beautifully pale, translucent wine. Registering just 11% alcohol, its color is calm, soft, and almost coppery — one can sense its gentle nature just from looking at it. A pure, honest nose of red licorice, dried leaves, and fresh pipe tobacco introduces an ethereal caress of a palate with almost no detectable tannins. “Benedic” is a pretty, tasty, plain-speaking wine with no makeup and no pretension, and its softly floral edge puts one in the mind of springtime.
Cistercian nuns has been organically farming their five hectares of vines in Vitorchiano, Lazio, since the early nineties, but it wasn’t until Giampiero Bea began advising them in the early 2000s that their wines gained a larger audience.
