Antonio Gismondi
Baciami Ancora 2022

  • Region Cerreto Sannita, Campania, Italy
  • Grapes Camaiola
  • Vineyard Biodynamic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, no additional sulphites
  • ABV 13.1%
  • Size 750ml

Quantity

About the Wine

A brand new cuvée from Antonio! After purchasing a small parcel of vines from his sister in the lower-lying flats of Cerreto Sannita, planted with highly obscure and regionally specific grape Camaiola, he has added this glossy, explosively fruity red wine to his repertoire.

At just 200m altitude, lower than any of his other vines, the plants hug a more clay-heavy soil and ripen at higher temperatures, producing something a little more brash and bold than the usual lean Gismondi style. Camaiola is one of those red grapes with inky, deep-coloured juice, so it may surprise you to find out this wine comes from a direct-press, with no influence from the skins whatsoever.

Beyond its vivid appearance the next thing to hit is the huge aroma brimming from the glass - it evokes powdery parma violets and rosewater. On the palate the sleekly-textured wine gives a sort of juicy cherry cola character, albeit with a herbaceous, strawberry liquorice lilt. A playful fruit-bomb of a wine, like nothing we have tasted before!

Treat this as you would a deeply-coloured rosato and serve it chilled.

About Antonio Gismondi

We first became aware of Antonio and his wine after a heady visit to Massimo and Antonella of Partida Creus, two Italians resident in Tarragona, Spain, back in 2019. Some time before this, Antonio was running his own pizzaria just outside Barcelona, which they would frequent when in the area, becoming friends. At this point, Antonio’s father was at the helm of the family vineyards back home in Campania, farming biodynamically but making the wine a little more conventionally and selling to the local co-op. However, Antonio would make a little of his own natural wine on the side each year - after pouring it for Massimo and Antonella to get a bit of feedback, they saw the potential of the wine and suggested that he seriously consider making it as more than just a hobby-project to drink with friends. After working in restaurants most of his adult life, he was ready for a change and wanted to get out of the city, back to Italy and more importantly, out into nature. He returned to Cerreto Sannita in 2018 and took over from his retiring father, continuing the good vineyard work, but creating a new range of wines made under his own name with the strict philosophy of grapes and only grapes. It took us until late 2021 to track Antonio down and eventually taste for ourselves. It was worth the wait!

The vines sit around 350m above sea level and roughly 60km from the Tyrrhenian coastline, planted over rocky limestone and clay soils. This altitude and location has its own unique microclimate; towards Italy's south but much cooler and with good annual rainfall and a maritime influence bringing humid easterly winds from over the sea during the ripening season and fog in the cooler months. As such, Gismondi wines display a real delicacy and freshness over the more robust, structured style associated with this part of Italy. The 2 hectares of vines are planted mainly with Malvasia di Candia and Falanghina for the whites and a mixture of Sangiovese, Merlot & Freisa for the red. At another lower altitude site,  Antonio works with friends who grow a little of the pink-skinned Trebbiano Rosa variety. He makes six different wines, mainly white, all of which have a breezy, weightless quality with lilting yellow citrus, floral aromas and an underlying saline imprint. The one red wine, Crucella, is a bright-fruited, but structured cherry bomb, a world away from the heavier Aglianico-based wines of the region. They are uplifting and vital.

Find out more about Antonio Gismondi

More from Antonio Gismondi

Antonio Gismondi
Cerreto 2023

A delicate, weightless wine that seems to evaporate on the palate. The extraction is gentle and restrained, leaving the wine a pale gold with lifted aromas of floral blossom and white grapefruit pith, with just a hint of smokiness creeping through from the basalt bedrock. Find out more.

  • Region Cerreto Sannita, Campania, Italy
  • Grapes Malvasia di Candia
  • Vineyard Biodynamic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, no additional sulphites
£23.50

Quantity

Antonio Gismondi
Cerreto 2023 MAGNUM

A delicate, weightless wine that seems to evaporate on the palate. The extraction is gentle and restrained, leaving the wine a pale gold with lifted aromas of floral blossom and white grapefruit pith, with just a hint of smokiness creeping through from the basalt bedrock. Find out more.

  • Region Cerreto Sannita, Campania, Italy
  • Grapes Malvasia di Candia
  • Vineyard Biodynamic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, no additional sulphites
£49.50

Antonio Gismondi
Crucella 2022

Old-school rusticity with of juicy, supple cherry fruit, rosewater and oozing charm. A world away from the more heavily tannic reds associated with this part of Italy. Find out more.

  • Region Cerreto Sannita, Campania, Italy
  • Grapes Sangiovese, Merlot & Camaiola
  • Vineyard Biodynamic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, no additional sulphites
£27.50

Quantity

Antonio Gismondi
Foresta 2023

Deploying some grapes from a different site at lower altitude where the obscure pink-skinned Trebbiano Rosa varietal is planted over soils of heavy clay, this is the more robust and structured of Antonio's wines, whilst still retaining his trademark purity and freshness. Find out more.

  • Region Cerreto Sannita, Campania, Italy
  • Grapes Trebbiano, Trebbiano Rosa & Malvasia di Candia
  • Vineyard Biodynamic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, no additional sulphites
£23.50

Quantity

Antonio Gismondi
Foresta 2023 MAGNUM

Deploying some grapes from a different site at lower altitude where the obscure pink-skinned Trebbiano Rosa varietal is planted over soils of heavy clay, this is the more robust and structured of Antonio's wines, whilst still retaining his trademark purity and freshness. Find out more.

  • Region Cerreto Sannita, Campania, Italy
  • Grapes Trebbiano, Trebbiano Rosa & Malvasia di Candia
  • Vineyard Biodynamic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, no additional sulphites
£49.50

Quantity

Antonio Gismondi
Pietre 2023

A briny, sharp wine of refreshment that bursts with salty lemon citrus and a little peachy flesh. The vines in this particular parcel reach down to a layer of volcanic bedrock which binds the abundance of tropical fruit with an unmistakable aroma of smoke and gives tension to the acidity. Find out more.

  • Region Cerreto Sannita, Campania, Italy
  • Grapes Malvasia di Candia & Falanghina
  • Vineyard Biodynamic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, no additional sulphites
£23.50

Quantity

Antonio Gismondi
Pietre 2023 MAGNUM

A briny, sharp wine of refreshment that bursts with salty lemon citrus and a little peachy flesh. Interestingly, the vines in this particular parcel reach down to a layer of volcanic bedrock which imparts an unmistakable aroma of smoke and some welcome tension to the acidity. Find out more.

  • Region Cerreto Sannita, Campania, Italy
  • Grapes Malvasia di Candia & Falanghina
  • Vineyard Biodynamic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, no additional sulphites
£49.50

Quantity