La Regina del Quartuccio, "Estremo" 2021

"The Queen of the Quarter," the name Remo Bartolomei chose for his wine endeavor begun in proper in 2020, was the nickname for his mother growing up. A family affair, Remo has seen winemaking in the same vein as many winegrowers before him -- something to be shared and inspire conviviality, community. As such, Remo's start in winemaking was born out of his friendship with his three friends, the tripartite behind the wine operation "Il Vinco," which is located off the southern slopes of the volcanic Lake Bolsena in northern Lazio. In fact, this cuvée "estRemo," meaning "extreme" is a double pun/homage -- the grapes for this skin contact bottling come from the same vineyard farmed by his "Il Vinco" friends from which they make a wine called "est est est!." His name being Remo, the two are put together: Est/Remo. A picture of collaboration indeed. The focus for his wines is fresh and lively expressions of the volcanic heritage of Lake Bolsena's soil composition and, in modern times, wholly underappreciated viticulture. Remo now enters the fold of the natural revolution happening around the lake where land is cheap enough to not keep out first timers and the promise of high quality grapes is seemingly boundless -- along with Le Coste, Andrea Occhipinti, Joy Kull, Trish Nelson, and the Il Vinco boys, Lake Bolsena seems to be very much where it's at these days.