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2017 Patrimonio Blanc “Carco”
Antoine Arena
As Antoine slowly and methodically passes the torch to his two able sons, Antoine-Marie and Jean-Baptiste, he continues to make a few wines from his favorite parcels under his own label. Carco is made from Vermentino grown on the principal geological feature of Patrimonio, an enormous cresting wave of limestone that separates the village from the ocean. We here at KLWM don’t know of a better terroir for Vermentino anywhere in the world.
—Dixon Brooke
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2017 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Vermentinu |
Appellation: | Patrimonio |
Country: | France |
Region: | Corsica |
Producer: | Antoine Arena |
Winemaker: | Antoine Arena |
Vineyard: | Planted in 1987, 1 ha |
Soil: | Chalk, Clay, Limestone |
Aging: | Natural fermentation, low doses of sulfur, cement cuve, no wood; long fermentations, then wines are aged for 6 to 8 months on fine lees |
Farming: | Organic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 13% |
More from this Producer or Region

2022 Patrimonio Blanc “Carco”
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Limestone, sea breeze, and wildflowers: welcome to Patrimonio.

2021 Patrimonio Blanc “Cuvée Sarah”
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This white, raised in demi-muids with malolactic fermentation, flamboyantly shows off the affinity of ripe Vermentinu grapes with a judicious use of wood.

2024 Vin de France Blanc “Faustine”
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A lovely apéritif or the ideal match to Mediterranean-inspired antipasti.

2023 Vin de France “Le Vin Coule Dans Nos Veines”
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Reminiscent of ripe wild blackberries crushed on a hot stone, “Le Vin Coule” is utterly gulpable—give it a light chill and revel in this unique Corsican rouge.

2020 Vin de France Rouge “Sempre Azezzu”
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Not quite Rhône-like and not quite Corsican, this has the best of both worlds, with plenty of palate-staining black fruit to boot.

2024 Île de Beauté “Biancu Marinu”
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This Corsican delight is fully dry, aromatic, and playful with notes of lychee, citrus blossom, pomelo fruit, and a touch of sea breeze.

2021 Vin de France Blanc “Général de la Révolution”
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A nod to the island’s rich history of viticulture, the Général is simply a stunning bottle of white wine.

2017 Muscat du Cap Corse
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Its ravishing perfume of miel du maquis, wildflowers, and resinous herbs could come only from Corsica.

2022 Patrimonio Rouge “Grotte di Sole”
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Think classic, spirited Sangiovese with a wilder, slightly darker-fruited, herb-singed character from the ancient seaside maquis-studded limestone.

2022 Vin de France Blanc “B.G.”
France | Corsica
A beautiful example of Biancu Gentile, an heirloom white grape revived from near-extinction by Arena in the 1990s.
About The Producer
Antoine Arena
About The Region
Corsica
I first set foot on the island in 1980. I remember looking down from the airplane window seeing alpine forest and lakes and thinking, uh oh, I got on the wrong plane. Then suddenly I was looking down into the beautiful waters of the Mediterranean. Corsica is a small, impossibly tall island, the tail of the Alp chain rising out of the blue sea.—Kermit Lynch
Kermit’s first trip to the island proved fruitful, with his discovery of Clos Nicrosi’s Vermentino. More than thirty years later, the love affair with Corsica has only grown as we now import wines from ten domaines that cover the north, south, east, and west of what the French affectionately refer to as l’Île de Beauté.
Corsica is currently experiencing somewhat of a renaissance—interest has never been higher in the wines and much of this is due to growers focusing on indigenous and historical grapes found on the island. Niellucciu, Sciarcarellu, and Vermentinu are widely planted but it is now common to find bottlings of Biancu Gentile and Carcaghjolu Neru as well as blends with native varieties like Rossola Bianca, Minustellu, or Montaneccia.
As Kermit described above, Corsica has a strikingly mountainous landscape. The granite peaks top out above 9,000 feet. The terroir is predominantly granite with the exception of the Patrimonio appellation in the north, which has limestone, clay, and schist soils.The wines, much like their southern French counterparts make for great pairings with the local charcuterie, often made from Nustrale, the native wild boar, as well as Brocciu, the Corsican goats milk cheese that is best served within 48 hours of it being made.
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2023 Vin de France Blanc “Faustine”
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2024 Vin de France Rouge “Faustine”
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2024 Île de Beauté “Biancu Marinu”
Yves Leccia France | Corsica
2022 Patrimonio Rouge “Grotte di Sole”
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2021 Patrimonio Rouge “Cru Des Agriate”
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2022 Corse Figari Rouge
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2019 Vin de France Blanc “Général de la Révolution”
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2024 Patrimonio Rosé “Cuvée de l’Agriate”
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Where the newsletter started

Where the newsletter started
Every three or four months I would send my clients a cheaply made list of my inventory, but it began to dawn on me that business did not pick up afterwards. It occurred to me that my clientele might not know what Château Grillet is, either. One month in 1974 I had an especially esoteric collection of wines arriving, so I decided to put a short explanation about each wine into my price list, to try and let my clients know what to expect when they uncorked a bottle. The day after I mailed that brochure, people showed up at the shop, and that is how these little propaganda pieces for fine wine were born.—Kermit Lynch