I CA RO

Castelli Romani, Lazio

In 2019 a band of four friends - Rocco, Fabio, Luca & Gianmarco - founded I CA RO (an acronym standing for i Castelli Romani) . The collective group are childhood friends, born and raised in central Rome. After working in the blossoming enoteca scene and with several small natural winemakers around Italy, they decided it was time they went to work creating a new vision of Roman wine, from the volcanic soils of the Castelli Romani just south of the city.

The wines they have set out to create embody the new, modern vision of what Roman wine culture and local terroir has to offer. They intend to change the game and shake things up, working with native grapes of course but also using a variety of vinification methods that are a combination of old-farmer wisdom and modern know-how.

The cantina is located in the village of Velletri, just south of Rome (a town you should know as it is home to our other rising star in the region, Colleformica). The tiny vineyard parcels (just 3 hectares at this point) overlook the Lago di Nemi, one of the several volcanic crater lakes that form the impressive terroir that is the Castelli Romani. The land is owned by two young friends of the winemaking gang, Paola and Luca, and they work together using biodynamic and organic practices.

In the cellar the wines come alive! Natural fermentation, scant usage of sulfur and a variety of vinification methods are employed: whole cluster, co-fermentation, clay anfora aging, etc. The resulting wines are vibrant, fresh and alive all while being exceptionally clean and balanced...wines we all want to drink with friends!

From our perspective ICARO represents the vanguard of the exciting movement happening in and around Rome. We’ve been saying for years that the reason that the Italian Natural Wine Movement felt perhaps a little behind the curve with respect to say the French movement, was because Italy lacked a central hub of culture and enthusiasm for natural wine...it lacked a Paris. Today Rome is dotted with budding new enoteche/wine bars and trattorie that focus and serve natural wine. It has become a thriving market for producers around Italy to showcase their work and, as we see with projects like ICARO, it is inspiring a new generation of winemakers to take up the practice.

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Featured

Nemico Bianco dei Castelli

“The name Nemico is a tribute to the Volcanic lake of Nemi which our cellar overlooks (the reason why we chose it). It is our first wine, the one we are most fond of and that represents us the most.
Trebbiano and Malvasia in maceration on the skins for 30% of the mass and then complete the spontaneous fermentation in fiberglass. It is the most authentic expression of his vineyard in Velletri and it is exactly what we had in mind when we decided to make wine in the Castelli Romani. A territorial white, fresh and irreverent, a wine in which minerality and aroma are in perfect balance with each other for a long, changeable and deep drink.

It is “the nemesis” but it is good .. trust me. It is the enemy only of bad people!”

Rosario Rosato Metticcio

“Elegant but at the same time deeply material. Difficult to frame in the classic schemes of purity. Rosario is a frontier wine that reveals energy and sensuality from the first to the last sip.
The soul of Trebbiano and Malvasia meets 1/4 of the best Nero Buono in direct pressing. They unite, they influence each other, they find strength in intermingling. They ferment together, spontaneously, in fiberglass, giving unexpected acidity, elegance, fruit and depth. There is the vineyard and there is the volcano but there is also something elusive; the salt and balsamic of Mediterranean herbs.
Rosario is a hymn to freedom and letting go, it combines strength and refinement, a territorial heart and originality. Rosario is the new, half-caste rosé of the Castelli Romani!”

Schicchera Rosato Carbonico

“/Schic•che•rà•re/ drink often and abundantly wine or liqueurs ≈ raise your elbow, drink, drank ≈ get drenched, put your hair down, gulp.
La Schicchera is a rosé with compulsive drinking. It is for partying and revelry, for noisy dinners, crowded clubs and summer nights. We use Trebbiano, Malvasia and Nero Buono in full-cluster carbonic maceration in steel to load the aromatic bomb and explode the most fruity and intense characters of the grapes.
Subtle tannins, freshness, lots of acidity and the impetuousness of youth. The Schicchera is agile, quick and immediate. To drink in a flash!”

Operaio Rosso Populare

“We wanted a fresh, direct and spontaneous red. A powerful and expressive red that reached everyone, that represented the territory without hiding its sometimes rustic but always authentic character. L’Operaio is a wine for daily hardships and big parties in the square. It is a popular red, made with the hands and the heart.
60% Nero Buono from Guyot-trained vines on volcanic soil, exposed to the sea near Circeo, 40% Trebbiano and Malvasia, from tendone-trained vines. 24-36 hours skin contact.
The white and red grapes are co-fermented and aged in fiberglass before bottling for a wine of great freshness, surprising acidity and crunchy tannins that lengthen and complete the drink.
There is everything, red fruit and minerality, body, acidity and balsamic notes.
Drinkers from all over the world. Unite!”

Friccica Ancestrale Frizzante

“Once upon a time there was a dream called Romanella , the Castelli champagne, a magical bubble. Forgotten, or worse, destroyed in recent decades, it is a symbol of everything there is to rebuild in the world of Castelli Romani wine. And we decided to try.
Friccica is our ancestral sparkling wine from Bellone and Malvasia grapes directly pressed in steel. We bottle it with a little residual sugar to complete, with the first warm ones, its natural refermentation in the bottle.
Friccica is a spark, a light shock that pervades the soul, a fresh, immediate, decisive bubble. No opulence, essential. Just monstrous drinkability.”