9 di Dante Inferno Vermouth di Torino Superiore

Product of: Italy

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9 Di Dante Inferno is a Vermouth di Torino Superiore based on Dolcetto red and Cortese white Piedmont wines and flavoured with 27 botanicals, nine of which have been "carefully chosen to guide you through Dante's 9 circles of hell."

This vermouth was inspired by the Italian writer, Dante Alighieri's 14th-century poem Divine Comedy which famously describes Dante's journey through Hell and Purgatory on his way to Paradise. In the poem, Hell is depicted as nine concentric circles of torment located within the Earth; referenced by the red circles screen-printed on this vermouth's bottle, and the selection of the following nine of the 27 botanicals:
1st Circle (Limbo) - represented by Artemisia wormwood
2nd Circle (Lust) - represented by Cardamom
3rd Circle (Gluttony) - represented by Bitter orange
4th Circle (Greed) - represented by Cumin
5th Circle (Wrath) - represented by Basil
6th Circle (Heresy) - represented by Nettle
7th Circle (Violence) - represented by Tansy
8th Circle (Fraud) - represented by Fennel
9th Circle (Treachery) - represented by Caraway

Dolcetto e Cortese Bianco grapes are also "a key element within 9diDANTE."

9 di Dante is the brainchild of Alex Ouziel who sought the expertise of Mario Baralis, master blender and former guardian of Antonio Carpano's vermouth recipe, overseeing its production at the old Carpano distillery in Turin for over 15 years, until the brand and company were sold in 1996.

Fittingly, the production of 9 di Dante Inferno is in batches of 6,666 bottles at the Dr M. Montanaro Distillery, the distillery credited creating the first mono-varietal Grappa di Barolo in 1885.

Review and Tasting

Sampled on 22/02/2020

Appearance:

Clear, deep burgundy red.

Aroma:

Vinous and herbal with delicate cumin, red berries, dark chocolate, and zesty citrus.

Taste:

As rosso vermouths go, this is on the spicy side with warming cardamom, cinnamon, and clove, and generous with its concentrated complex herbal flavour and rich red berry wine notes.

Aftertaste:

Spicy rich red berry-like with balancing lingering wormwood bitterness.

Overall:

A big, generously flavoured rich vermouth with pronounced spiciness and lingering wormwood bitterness.