Casale Marchese Frascati Superiore 2021

The saying goes, “when in Rome, do what the Romans do.” When I was there, you better believe I did just that.

Of course, with an unwavering affinity for Pizza, I found myself looking for the best square slices I could find throughout the city. When sitting down to order a wine to enjoy with the pizza, I’d always ask the waiter for a really good, “vini bianchi” a white wine of their choosing, and more often than not, I was served a Frascati.

If you don’t know what Frascati is, there’s probably a good reason. Romans are very picky with their wines and when they love something, they tend to hold onto it and drink it for themselves instead of exporting it! For Romans, that white wine is Frascati. And for my Italian winemaking friends in Rome, Lazio and the neighboring towns, the Frascati of choice usually comes from Casale Marchese.

Even though Marchese’s Frascati’s can be had for the same price as the others, texturally, I don’t think any come close to this elevated experience. That’s why Luca Maroni gushed over the estate, calling their Frascati ‘the top in the appellation in terms of aromatic clarity, palatal softness and extractive concentration.” He also gave the 2021 release a 93-point score – a previously unheard of score for this ‘simple table wine’.