Unless you are a true wine fanatic, it is unlikely that in your life you have ever drunk a Biferno Rosso. In fact, for most of the public it will be difficult to even place the denomination on the map of Italy. Those most knowledgeable in geography, however, will know that the Biferno is the main river of Molise; and it is precisely this watercourse that lends its name to this DOC which, for the first time in the history of the Gambero Rosso Italian Wine Guide, has this year achieved Tre Bicchieri.
A Biferno Rosso obtains the Tre Bicchieri of Gambero Rosso
The only wine awarded in Molise this year is precisely the Biferno Rosso Ramitello ’21 by Di Majo Norante, a blend of Montepulciano (80%) and Aglianico of great substance and good fruit. A label that leads the charge for a region that has once again managed to assert itself this year. For a long time Molise remained on the margins of the Italian wine scene, with a production destined above all for local consumption and lacking great visibility. In recent decades, however, the situation seems to have changed somewhat. There has been that shift from quantity to quality – as in several other regions – and the old high-yielding vineyards have given way to more modern and rational plantings, capable above all of enhancing the native grape varieties.
The revival of Molise, between Tintilia, Montepulciano and Aglianico
Defining the identity of the region from this point of view is above all Tintilia, a grape variety which until the 1980s risked extinction and which today represents the symbol of the Molise revival. Last year it was precisely a Tintilia that won the award for best value for money. Alongside it – and not in a merely supporting role – are the great classics of central-southern Italy: Montepulciano and Aglianico, different twins that are gradually finding their own more precise dimension. Molise remains a small-scale reality, with a limited number of wineries, but it is precisely this reduced scale that can become a strength: increasingly careful production and a close bond with the land could be the levers to draw the attention of the most curious enthusiasts to this small territory.
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