Rosé offers a perfect introduction into the world of Italian wine. While more complex than a white wine, Rosé isn’t quite as difficult to interpret as a red. For those who want to learn more about wine and how to distinguish notes, it’s a perfect middle ground. It’s also an ideal way to develop your palette for when you do decided to try a more complex vintage.
That’s why Rosé proves so popular in so many different countries. And of course, the Italian wine industry responds by producing enormous volumes of the stuff every year.
We want to shine a spotlight on a producer that does an exceptional job of this. That leaves us with the same conundrum that we face with so many of these reviews.
Which producer do we chose?
After a lot of thought, we’ve decided to look at a company for whom Rosé is just one of several wines that they’re known for. Also famous for producing amazing Chianti wines, this company absolutely deserves to have more name recognition outside of Italy.
We’re talking about Felsina.
We’re going to look at one of their excellent wines in just a little moment. First, let’s dig into the company’s history and what makes it so special.
The History
Unlike so many other producers who specialise in creating wines using the fabled Sangiovese grape, Felsina has fairly recent origins.
It was in 1966 that a young wine lover names Domenico Poggiali Fèlsina made a bold choice. Despite the ailing Italian wine industry of the time, Domenico made the decision to buy his own wine estate. His goal was to create a wine that was so good that even a struggling industry could not hold it back.
To do that, he focused on quality over quantity. Domenico wanted to bring new ideas into the industry too, which is why he created a team of young and enthusiastic experts to help him to craft the perfect wine.
The passion that this team brought to the endeavour played a huge role in Felsina’s early successes. However, we cannot underestimate Domenico’s skills as a businessman here. With the help of several advisors, he counteracted an ailing industry with an injection of brand new ideas.
He needed to establish a fine balancing act. On one hand, he didn’t want to forget the many traditions that had made the industry what it was. Domenico knew the high regard in which many hold the Sangiovese grape and he didn’t want to create a wine that was so alien to those who loved the grape that it would get rejected.
But at the same time, he knew that a stagnating industry needs innovation to bring it back to life. Hence why his business plan focused on modernity as much as traditionalism.
The company maintained the balance perfectly. In just a few years, they’d developed enough of a reputation that they were able to expand their vineyards to cover 40 hectares. Now, they could create the volume to meet the demand that their quality wines had created.
It was during this time that the company’s entire soul and ethos began to evolve as well.
In the 1970s, Domenico brought a man named Giuseppe Mazzocolin on board. Giuseppe was an even more experienced businessman than Domenico and he was able to bring a commercial understanding to the business that it had previously lacked. Building on the foundations that Domenico has already put in place, Giuseppe set about creating a more commercially viable business that would be able to withstand any changes that the industry might bring about.
His background lay in the study of humanities. And while that may not immediately seem like the most useful business skill in the world, it had afforded the Giuseppe to build an extremely useful list of contacts across several industries. He immediately put those networking skills to use to the benefit of Felsina.
Of course, all of the contacts in the world mean very little if there’s no work ethic to back up the talking. But in Giuseppe, Felsina had found a man with an indomitable work ethic who also had a deep-rooted respect for both Italian and Tuscan culture.
This understanding of local culture is what helped the company to really establish itself at home. But their ambitions were far greater. With Giuseppe’s help, the winery began to make inroads into the international market. And by the time the 1980s rolled around, Felsina had established itself as a respected company on the international stage.
That global development would not have happened without oenologist Franco Bernabei and a man named Luigi Veronelli. Together with Giuseppe and Domenico, the men formulated an expansion and development strategy that helped the company stretch out beyond “respected” and into the territory of being internationally profitable.
They came on board in 1983. And since that year, Felsina has been able to grow consistently thanks to the quality of its wines.
The company still has Giuseppe and Domenico at the helm. However, they’ve also brought Giuseppe’s oldest son on board to help run the business.
Felsina is what results when ambitious people bring passion into a project. Now, let’s take a look at one of the company’s most spectacular wines.
Felsina Brut Rosé Metodo Classico
A sparling Rosé, this Italian wine showcases its quality from the moment you open the bottle. The fine and persistent bubbles act as a teaser for the taste that you’re about to enjoy. But we fully recommend sampling the bouquet before you take your first sip.
The ultra-fragrant collection of notes will almost overwhelm you with its fruity freshness. You’ll enjoy wild berry and citrus notes, with the faint smell of rose petals bringing some balance to the equation.
Once you take your first sip, those flavours career your palette and intertwine beautifully. This is a stylish wine with a refreshing acidity, which makes it perfect for enjoying in the warm summer sunshine.
Our team gives it a score of 88/100 and we’re very excited to see what new ideas Felsina brings to the table in the coming years.
Try the Felsina Brut Rosé Metodo Classico, awarded 90 points by Robert Parker!
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