Santa Venere

Vurgadà Calabria IGT Red Blend

8.76 ratings
8.82 pro ratings
Cirò, Crotone, Calabria, Italy
Nerello Cappuccio, Merlot, Gaglioppo
Beef, Venison, Salami & Prosciutto, Chili & Hot Spicy, Potato, Exotic Spices, Lamb, White Rice, Baking Spices, Herbs, Pasta, Chicken, Mushrooms, Pungent Cheese, Turkey, Tomato-Based, Soft Cheese, Pork, Beans & Peas, Hard Cheese, Duck, Onion, Shallot, Garlic
Top Notes For
Jay Kline

Served double-blind. Deep, glass staining ruby red with an utterly opaque core. On the nose, decadent, sightly confected, red fruits...almost red rope licorice like...mixed with spiced dark fruits (plums and currants) and cocoa. The palate is more dark fruited with semi-sweet chocolate chips…the ones made with the natural vanilla, and some coffee but there is good acid and the tannins, which are quite fine, are also quite sneaky. Long, satisfying finish. This comes across as a fairly extracted wine and I wondered if there as some residual sugar, possibly some appassimento?? I was totally stumped. Revealed to be this blend of Nerello Cappuccio and Gaglioppo; the latter I had zero experience with but, apparently, related to Sangiovese. This is a wine of intense concentration and proved to be most enjoyable on Day 3 once everything became a bit more integrated. I don’t have a whole lot of experience with Calabrian wines so I’m unsure if this is truly representative or an outlier. I’m intrigued and I think that the quality is certainly there. Paired very well on Day 1 with Osso Bucco and saffron risotto.

Served double-blind. Deep, glass staining ruby red with an utterly opaque core. On the nose, decadent, sightly confected, red fruits...almost red rope licorice like...mixed with spiced dark fruits (plums and currants) and cocoa. The palate is more dark fruited with semi-sweet chocolate chips…the ones made with the natural vanilla, and some coffee but there is good acid and the tannins, which are quite fine, are also quite sneaky. Long, satisfying finish. This comes across as a fairly extracted wine and I wondered if there as some residual sugar, possibly some appassimento?? I was totally stumped. Revealed to be this blend of Nerello Cappuccio and Gaglioppo; the latter I had zero experience with but, apparently, related to Sangiovese. This is a wine of intense concentration and proved to be most enjoyable on Day 3 once everything became a bit more integrated. I don’t have a whole lot of experience with Calabrian wines so I’m unsure if this is truly representative or an outlier. I’m intrigued and I think that the quality is certainly there. Paired very well on Day 1 with Osso Bucco and saffron risotto.

Apr 1st, 2021
Francesco Iacono

Fruttato, giovane! Molto gradevole

Fruttato, giovane! Molto gradevole

Feb 21st, 2017
Will Messer

Calabrian wine, Nerello Cappuccio & Gaglioppo grapes. Tasted at Jimmy's.

Calabrian wine, Nerello Cappuccio & Gaglioppo grapes. Tasted at Jimmy's.

Jan 28th, 2017
Bill Pernice

Organic from Calabria.

Organic from Calabria.

Jan 14th, 2013
Fulvio Benetti

17chf @vinarte-agno

17chf @vinarte-agno

Sep 13th, 2014
Jon Studer

Jon had this 6 years ago

Jon had this 6 years ago

Dec 14th, 2017
Corrado Russo

Corrado had this 9 years ago

Corrado had this 9 years ago

Jan 6th, 2015