Monastero delle Suore Cistercensi Coenobium Ruscum 2020

Price: $60.00
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Tasting notes

Ruscum shows a deep golden to amber hue from extended skin contact. Expect notes of apricot jam, pear, grapefruit rind, white pepper, hay, wildflowers, and gunflint, with herbal anise character and penetrating minerality. It is richer and more textural than the lighter Coenobium cuvée, with well-integrated tannins.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Apricot JamPearGrapefruitWhite Pepper
Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Orange Wine
Wine Style:, Medium Body
Grapes:, Trebbiano, Malvasia, Verdicchio
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2020
Alcohol:, 12%
Country:, Italy
Region:, Lazio
Appellation:, Lazio IGT
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

  • Style: Orange wine; deep golden to amber; apricot, grapefruit rind and gunflint; 12% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: Trebbiano, Malvasia, Verdicchio; organic; volcanic soils, Vitorchiano, Lazio
  • Winemaking: Hand-harvested, co-fermented with native yeasts, 2+ weeks skin contact, unfined and unfiltered
  • Serving: Serve around 54F; best not briskly chilled
  • Pairing: Fish, wild mushrooms, saltimbocca, roast pork, grilled vegetables, aged cheese
  • Similar To: Other Italian skin-contact orange wines from volcanic terroir

Coenobium Ruscum is an orange wine produced by the Cistercian nuns of Monastero Suore Cistercensi in Vitorchiano, Lazio, about ninety minutes north of Rome. The sisters have organically farmed five hectares of vines on volcanic soils since the early 1990s, with winemaking guided by consultant Giampiero Bea since the early 2000s. It is a blend of Trebbiano, Malvasia, and Verdicchio, harvested by hand and co-fermented with native yeasts. The pressed juice is given extended skin contact of fifteen days or more, and the wine is bottled without fining or filtering.

Pair with fish, wild mushrooms, and dishes with sage and rosemary such as saltimbocca. It also works with roast pork, grilled vegetables, fresh pasta with pesto, and aged cheeses. Salty appetizers and roasted vegetables complement its herbal and mineral character.

Important information

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.


Important Compliance Requirements

FedEx and other carriers we might occasionally use can only deliver wine to customers who are 21 years or older. Someone must be at the address to receive the package, carriers don't just drop a package and leave. They must ensure the person receiving the wine is 21 or older.


Re-shipping a Package

If a package is returned to us after three failed delivery attempts, we can only re-ship the wine upon payment of a re-shipping fee, to be determined based on the shipping address and number of bottles. Shipping wine is extremely expensive. We are sorry about this, but we have no other choice. Please make sure there's always someone at the address you enter as your shipping address.

If you'd like to receive a refund for a package that was returned to us after FedEx made three delivery attempts, we can do that but we must keep a $20 refund fee; FedEx charges us a lot of money for returns, unfortunately, I can't stress this enough.


Re-routing a Package

If you'd like to reroute a package after it's been shipped, we can do so for a $20 re-routing fee. We cannot re-route a package across state borders. For any change of address, please contact us as soon as possible, ideally within 1-2 days from placing the order or we cannot guarantee we'll be able to reroute or change your order's shipping address.


Canceling an Order

If you'd like to cancel an order after it's been shipped, we can do so upon payment of a small cancellation fee – the amount depends on the size of the order. Carriers charge us a lot of money to recall a package en-route.


Heat/Frost damage

We are not responsible for heat- or frost-related issues. We offer ice-packs upon request. Please let us know if you think that there could be heat-related issues. If we don't hear anything from you regarding weather issues before an order is shipped, or if you don't request a hold due to the weather, we are not responsible for heat/frost damage.


Placed an order. What next?

1. You will receive an order confirmation email with your order summary.*

2. As soon as your order ships from the warehouse, usually within 2-3 business days, this applies to all shipping rates, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with your tracking information. 2DAY shipping refers to shipping time; we still need 2-3 business days to prepare an order. We need to pick and pack, QA, add printed collateral, and palletize the orders.

3. Please track your package using the tracking service.

4. The carrier will attempt delivery a maximum of 3 times. After 3 delivery attempts, your package will be sent back to our warehouse.**

*Please ensure your email address is correct; otherwise, you will not receive the order and shipping confirmation emails.

**If delivery is attempted 3 times without success, or if you fail to retrieve your package from the carrier depot by the stated deadline, the shipping fee will not be refunded to the customer.

Returns Policy

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at (424) 414-2040 or via e-mail at hello@primalwine.com between 9 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Sunday, we would like to understand and try to solve your concerns. We can offer refunds only as store credit.

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Producer profile

Monastero Suore Cistercensi

Monastero Suore Cistercensi is a convent of Cistercian nuns in Vitorchiano, Lazio. The order's origins trace back to 1098. The sisters produce wine alongside other goods as part of a self-sustaining community, and the wines gained a larger audience after Giampiero Bea, son of Paolo Bea, began advising them in the early 2000s.

The nuns have organically farmed their five hectares of vines since the early 1990s, certified organic by Associazione Suolo e Salute since 1993. Around 70 to 80 women of the order tend the vineyards, orchards, and gardens, with harvests done entirely by hand.

Winemaking follows a low-technology, hands-off approach. Fermentations are spontaneous with native yeasts in steel and fiberglass tanks. For Ruscum, the juice is left on the skins for two weeks or more, and the wine is bottled without fining or filtering. Approximately 4,000 bottles are produced annually, the majority sent to the United States.

Wine region

Lazio, Italy

Lazio lies in central Italy with its capital at Rome. The vineyards of Monastero Suore Cistercensi sit in the medieval village of Vitorchiano, about ninety minutes north of Rome, at the foot of Mount Cimini on volcanic soils.

This wine is classified as Lazio IGT. The estate works primarily with local grapes Trebbiano, Malvasia, and Verdicchio, along with small amounts of Sangiovese, Ciliegiolo, and Merlot, all grown on volcanic soils.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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