A Third, but Not Final, Lambrusco Exploration: Cleto Chiarli Lambrusco di Castelvetro Vigneto Cialdini 2017 #ItalianFWT

This month, Jennifer of Vino Travels is hosting the Italian Food Wine Travel bloggers as we explore Lambrusco. If you are reading this early enough, feel free to jump in on the live Twitter chat - Saturday, June 1st, at 8am Pacific time. Just use the hashtag #ItalianFWT so we can see your comment. This is actually not my official post because I decided to give Lambrusco a more serious look after this. So...this just a precursor to my actual post.

I located three bottles ahead of the event: Cleto Chiarli Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro Amabile, Cleto Chiarli Lambrusco di Sorbara Vecchia Modena 2018, and Cleto Chiarli Lambrusco di Castelvetro Vigneto Cialdini 2017. We tried them in that order.

I paired the Cleto Chiarli Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro Amabile with a Torta Barozzi and you can read my post that it didn't change my opinion of Lambrusco. If I had stopped there, I would have missed out on the Cleto Chiarli Lambrusco di Sorbara Vecchia Modena 2018 which I paired with Warmed Brie with Mulberry Chutney. That post will go live tomorrow afternoon.

The third bottle - Cleto Chiarli Lambrusco di Castelvetro Vigneto Cialdini 2017 - completely blew us away.

At first, I was hesitant. Just look at that bubblegum colored froth in my pour! I was expecting cotton candy. How wrong I was.

Jake's pour revealed a bright, clear ruby that almost glowed red. We found this Lambrusco bone dry with intense, but not overpowering, aromas. On the tongue there was an intriguing mix of tart fruit with a spicy earthiness. Wow. I am now a Lambrusco convert. 

This third bottle will certainly not be our last Lambrusco. I can't wait to read about the other #ItalianFWT experiences and, perhaps, get a list of wines to track down.

I paired this with grilled venison medallion, simply seasoned with salt and pepper, and a green salad with pears, dried cherries, and gorgonzola in a light vinaigrette dressing. Cin cin.