Cocchi Americano Rosa Apertivo (75cl, 16.5%)

Cocchi Americano Rosa is an Italian aperitivo from Asti, Piedmont, bottled at 16.5% ABV. It is a blend of aromatic Brachetto and Malvasia red wines, fortified and infused with gentian, cinchona, bitter-orange zest, ginger and rose petals, then rested for a full year before bottling. Bittered in the Americano tradition, it is the rosé sibling of the classic Bianco and is slightly more bitter than that white-wine-based version. Giulio Cocchi moved to Asti in 1891 and built his name on aromatised wines; the Bava family still makes them there today. The nose brings strawberries, raspberries, cherries, rose petals, violets, lavender and orange oil. The palate opens sweet with ripe berry fruit and vanilla, then gentian and herbs dry it out through clove spice and pink grapefruit, leaving a long red-berry finish with bitter herbal complexity.