DAMIANUS

Damianus is the red blend of the Tenuta Casali estate — a wine that draws on four varieties simultaneously to produce something of broader aromatic range and more complex character than any of the single-variety expressions can achieve alone. The blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot combines the Romagna indigenous tradition with the international Bordelaise varieties in proportions that reflect the Casali family's understanding of how each variety's specific contribution can be enhanced by its companions.

The Sangiovese brings the territorial identity of Romagna and the characteristic freshness and acidity of the region's defining grape; the Cabernet Sauvignon contributes structural depth and aromatic complexity; the Cabernet Franc adds the particular herbaceous-spicy dimension that distinguishes it from its more celebrated cousin; and the Merlot provides the generosity of fruit and textural softness that makes the blend immediately accessible despite its structural seriousness.

The production approach is different from the estate's other reds: traditional fermentation with post-fermentation macerations followed by six months in stainless steel with subsequent bottle ageing, rather than the extended French oak treatment applied to the Vigna Baruccia, Vigna Palazzina, and Quartosole. This choice produces a wine of fruit-forward character and greater freshness than the oak-aged expressions — the four varieties speaking more directly in the absence of wood's mediating influence.

Damianus is the wine through which the Casali family's love for experimentation and their desire to create emotions sip after sip finds its most complex and most considered expression in the estate's red wine range. Named for a saint of the early Christian tradition, it carries both the gravitas of its name and the generosity of its blend with equal ease.

Available through UniqueWines.