Aromas of spearmint, almond and a hint of fennel. Medium-full with impressive concentration, there is notable persistence, good acidity and excellent varietal character. Quite dry in the finish with green herbal notes. Enjoy over the next 5-7 years.
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The city of Loreto in Marche is the site of the Basilica della Santa Casa, one of the most important Christian pilgrimage sites during the Middle Ages and still among the most visited pilgrimage churches today. The basilica was built around a small house that is said to be the very structure in which the Virgin Mary was born and where Jesus was conceived and raised. According to tradition, the house was flown out of Nazareth in Palestine by angels before that city fell to Muslim forces during the Crusades, and it eventually wound up at the current location in Loreto. As such, untold thousands of the faithful have traveled from far and wide to see and pray at the Santa Casa (Holy House) over the centuries.
The pilgrims who came to Loreto were some of the world’s first mass tourists, and like the tourists of today, they needed places to stay and to eat. Inns and taverns sprang up around the pilgrimage sites to serve the needs of the visitors. In Loreto, along the main road entering the town from the north, one such inn was owned by Antonio Garofoli in the mid-19th century. In 1871, Garofoli began making wine to quench the pilgrims’ temporal thirst, beginning a long family tradition. Thirty years later, his son Gioacchino founded a full-scale winery operation. The winery expanded commercially after World War II as Casa Vinicola Gioacchino Garofoli with national and European distribution beginning in 1950.
The winery is now run by the fourth and fifth generations—brothers Carlo and Gianfranco Garofoli and their three children Gianluca, Caterina, and Beatrice. Garofoli today has four family-owned vineyards totaling 128 acres: at the family’s base in Castelfidardo outside Loreto, in the Castelli di Jesi growing area for Verdicchio in Montecarotto, in Paterno in the Rosso Cònero denomination, and the Piancarda vineyard within the Mount Cònero Regional Nature Park. The family also buys grapes from growers who have sold their entire output to Garofoli for many years. There are two production facilities, at Castelfidardo and Montecarotto.
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LOCATIONWINERY: Main winery in Castelfidardo (Ancona province), Marche; Verdicchio winery in Serra de’ Conti (Ancona province), Marche VINEYARD: Montecarotto (Jesi area), Paterno and Piancarda (Mount Cònero area), and Castelfidardo (near Loreto), all in Ancona province, Marche VIEW IN GOOGLE MAPS REGION DETAILS |
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90
MARCH 2023
Garofoli “Podium” Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore DOC 2020
![]() Aromas of spearmint, almond and a hint of fennel. Medium-full with impressive concentration, there is notable persistence, good acidity and excellent varietal character. Quite dry in the finish with green herbal notes. Enjoy over the next 5-7 years. 92
DECEMBER 2023
Garofoli “Podium” Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore DOC 2020
![]() A lovely, graceful white, with succulent acidity enlivening notes of ripe pear, anise and crushed almond, showing hints of Meyer lemon peel, vanilla and white blossoms. Long and well-knit, with a tang of salinity emerging to linger on the finish. Drink now through 2030. 89
SEPTEMBER 2020
Garofoli “Macrina” Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore DOC 2019
![]() The 2019 Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Macrina is zesty and fresh, punching well above its price point. Here I’m finding pretty yellow flowers, hints of smoke, lime-infused apple and savory herbs. It’s soft yet juicy and full of lively tension, showing ripe orchard fruits offset by yellow citrus and building mineral tones toward the close. The palate literally aches for another sip throughout the cheek-puckering and floral finale. 91
OCTOBER 2021
Garofoli “Grosso Agontano” Cònero Riserva DOCG 2018
![]() Dusty violets, roses, incense wild herbs and wet stone lift up to form a perfumed display as the 2018 Conero Riserva Grosso Agontano blossoms in the glass. The Agontano is silky and refined, contrasting ripe red berries and sweet spice with saline-mineral tones and brisk acidity. This leaves the palate with a coating of fine tannins, yet it remains energetic, savory and almost salty in character, with a hint of black licorice that lingers long. The 2018 Agontano will only require minimal cellaring to show well, and, although quite balanced and pretty, it should be enjoyed sooner rather than later. 89
OCTOBER 2021
Garofoli “Serra del Conte” Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico DOC 2020
![]() More savory than sweet and packed-full of crushed stone mineral tones and crisp green apple, the 2020 Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Serra del Conte makes itself known. While pleasantly ripe in style and soothing on the palate, this impresses more with its core of bright acidity that keeps the expression incredibly fresh and lifted. Hints of raw almond and orchard fruits linger long, as the cheeks pucker through the mouthwatering finale. I love the contrast of tension and ripeness here that makes the 2020 very easy to like. 90
APRIL 2022
Garofoli “Kómaros” Montepulciano Rosato Marche IGT 2021
![]() The 2021 Rosato Montepulciano Kómaros wafts up to show dusty rose, sweet melon and minty herbs. This impresses, with its soft textures contrasted by a reverberation of zesty acids and sour citrus tones; yet through it all, a vivid note of ripe yellow apple resides at its core. The 2021 Kómaros tapers off with tension, leaving behind mineral-tinged orchard fruits and a hint of blood orange. Garofoli knocked it out of the park with this Montepulciano Rosato. 92
APRIL 2024
Garofoli “Kómaros” Montepulciano Rosato Marche IGT 2022
![]() BEST BUY. Fresh watermelon with bruised mint and savory herbs all work in concert to draw your attention to the fresh and vibrant palate. Tart and crisp with mixed red fruits, dried wildflowers and sea salt on the mouthwatering palate. 93
MAY 2024
Garofoli “Grosso Agontano” Cònero Riserva DOCG 2020
![]() The 2020 Conero Riserva Agontano is dark and intense. A cascade of violet flowers and lavender gives way to crushed blackberries complicated by hints of cocoa and camphor. It’s soft and enveloping with polished red and black fruits guided by brisk acidity. Fine tannins slowly mount toward the close. The Agontano leaves chalky mineral tones and a bitter espresso tinge to stick around through the long and structured finale. The 2020 is complex and beautifully balanced, yet also painfully young. Patience will be required. |