Lacrima Di Morro DOC Superiore "Querciantica"

Lacrima di Morro d'Alba takes its name from the grape's tendency to weep juice through its thin skin — a biological quirk that concentrates aromatic compounds to an almost disorienting degree. Velenosi, founded in 1984 in Ascoli Piceno, championed this near-extinct Marche variety before it became fashionable, betting on indigenous identity over international varieties.

The vineyards sit in the hills around Morro d'Alba in the Senigallia hinterland, where clay-rich soils with limestone subsoil retain moisture through dry summers and moderate diurnal shifts sharpen the grape's natural acidity. These conditions amplify Lacrima's signature aromatic volatility — rose, violet, and dark berry — while the clay base builds textural weight.

The Superiore designation requires extended aging; Velenosi's Querciantica expression passes time in oak barrels, adding structure and taming the grape's exuberant tannin without erasing its floral core. Native fermentation preserves varietal character.

What is genuinely unusual: Lacrima is one of very few red grapes globally whose aromatic profile is dominated by rose oxide and geraniol — compounds more typical of white aromatics — making this structurally a red wine that smells like a flower market.

Drink now through 3–4 years to capture the aromatic lift before oak integration fully dominates.