In the heart of Loreto Aprutino – the storied and exceptional winemaking region in Abruzzo – Fausto Albanesi crafts what is by far and away one of the more ruminative rosato wines we’ve encountered at the store, and the 2023 may be his best yet. In true Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo form, Fausto’s 2023 'Rosa-ae' leans into the denser, darker, and more full-bodied end of the pink wine spectrum, combining equal parts saignée method (juice drawn from the early stages of red wine production), direct press, and cold maceration on the skins, resulting in a deceptively complex and dangerously delicious wine that oscillates between ripe, textural, and brooding, and high-toned, fresh, and laser-focused. ‘Provence pale’ be damned, the Rosa-ae pours a lustrous fuchsia, practically catapulting fistfuls of fresh-cut strawberries and all kinds of red fruit elements from the glass. Strawberry fruit roll-up, pickled rhubarb, tart pomegranate, fresh florals, clove, and of course oodles of red and black cherry ('Cerasuolo' literally means 'cherry-colored'), rounding things out with a dash of perfectly lingering alpine amaro spice. Coming from the Cerasuolo obsessives that we are, trust us that this is one not to miss this season!