red grape · rare
Aleatico
Italy, Tuscany
Say it
ah·leh·ah·tee·koh
Stress the third syllable and say the c as a hard k.
On the palate
rosevioletblack cherryplumlycheedried cherry
How you spot it blind: pronounced muscat-rose perfume in a red wine
The story
First written down · 14th century, Tuscany, Italy
Aleatico is documented in Tuscany in the 1300s under the name Livatica, with a 1778 account describing red wine from it in Tuscany. DNA work links it closely to Moscato bianco and suggests it could be a natural cross with an unidentified Pontica parent, but the second parent is not established. Plantings in Italy fell from about 2,120 hectares in 1970 to 171 hectares in 2010, and Elba Aleatico Passito gained DOCG status in 2011.
Where it lives
Apulia, Italy · Tuscany, Italy · Lazio, Italy
Shows up as
still redrosésparklingsweetfortifiedpassito
If you like this, try
Moscato NeroLacrima