2017 Gigondas “Terrasse du Diable”Domaine Les Pallières
France | Southern Rhône
$40
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Producers
Verdicchio is rarely considered more than a simple thirst-quencher, but thanks to the young, ambitious team that is La Marca di San Michele, such stereotypes can be all but forgotten. Their recipe for success—organic farming, natural vinification and aging in enormous oak casks with malolactic fermentation, and unfiltered bottling—yields a wine that does indeed provide vivacious refreshment, but also delivers ample layers of flavor and refined texture. Suggestions of pine nuts, hay, and spring flowers lead to an ultra-precise, stony finale recalling the ancient seabed the vines call home, in the shadow of the Apennines and within view of the Adriatic Sea. Tuck a few bottles away for six to eight more years, or serve immediately with a local specialty: porchetta.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2014 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Verdicchio |
Appellation: | Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi |
Country: | Italy |
Region: | Marche |
Producer: | La Marca di San Michele |
Vineyard: | 30 year old vines, 25 ha |
Soil: | Sandy tuffo |
Aging: | Ages in 10 hl Slavonian oak botti for 8 months |
Farming: | Sustainable |
Alcohol: | 12.5% |
La Marca Italy | Marche | Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi
La Marca di San Michele Italy | Marche | Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi
La Marca Italy | Marche | Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi
Azienda Santa Barbara Italy | Marche | Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi
Le Marche’s reputation as a producer of fine wine is relatively recent, as the region is very much off the beaten path for tourists and tasters alike. And yet, early Etrsucan and Roman civilizations grew grapes here, a tradition that persists and continues to gain momentum in this undulating land where the Apennines descend to the Adriatic.
In between the warm coastline and the cool, rugged mountainous border with Umbria lies a landscape of calcareous rolling hills that provide ideal conditions for viticulture. The zingy, green-tinged, citrus- and pine-scented Verdicchio is king here, producing delightfully crisp whites that perfectly complement the fresh fish and seafood stews of the Adriatic, in addition to the pork-based dishes that are staples inland. Around the towns of Jesi and Matelica, the grape takes on an additional dimension and is even capable of significant aging under the right conditions.
While our involvement in the region is recent, the two producers we represent demonstrate that Le Marche is capable of producing whites of serious interest, which often come at great value.
La Marca Italy | Marche | Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi
Azienda Santa Barbara Italy | Marche | Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi
La Marca di San Michele Italy | Marche | Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi
La Marca Italy | Marche | Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi
Tenuta La Pergola Italy | Piedmont | Monferrato Rosso
Tenuta Anfosso Italy | Liguria | Rossese di Dolceacqua
Weingut Carlotto Italy | Alto Adige | Vigneti delle Dolomiti
Podere Sante Marie Italy | Tuscany | Rosso di Montalcino
Deperu Holler Italy | Sardinia | Isola dei Nuraghi
Piero Benevelli Italy | Piedmont | Dolcetto d’Alba
Tenuta La Pergola Italy | Piedmont | Monferrato Rosso
Vignai da Duline Italy | Friuli | Friuli Colli Orientali
Trust the great winemakers, trust the great vineyards. Your wine merchant might even be trustworthy. In the long run, that vintage strip may be the least important guide to quality on your bottle of wine.—Kermit Lynch
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