Cosi Casè - a capricious Malvasia di Candia

When I first discovered the macerated monolith that is La Stoppa's Ageno, I made the assumption that it was a bit of a one-off. Like so many assumptions, it turned out to be completely false.

La Stoppa is one of a clutch of low-intervention producers, all based in the Colli Piacentini region, in north-west Emila-Romagna. Let's call them "The Piacentini Boys" - as they are all boys, with the honourable exception of La Stoppa's head of state Elena Pantaleoni. The winemakers are maestro Giulio Armani (La Stoppa, Denavolo), Alberto Anguissola (Casè), Andrea Cervini (Vino del Poggio), Massimiano Croci and (not quite in Piacentini but in nearby Parma) Alberto Carretti (Podere Pradarolo).

Apart from their low-intervention philosophy, and the near-total absence of added sulphites in any of the wines, these slightly rebellious producers are bound together by what grows in their vineyards. The headily-perfumed Malvasia di Candia Aromatica is the main white grape, genetically distinct from most ot…