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2020 Vin de France Blanc “Hauts de Carco”

Antoine-Marie Arena
Discount Eligible $52.00
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The Hauts de Carco parcel, planted on seemingly impossibly steep, solid rock, has solidified the Arena family’s reputation as masters of Vermentinu (and, at the time of planting, solidified their reputation among locals as having lost their minds). The only thing crazy here, though, is just how good this wine truly is—complex and generous, yet mineral and tight and delicate all at once.

Chris Santini


Technical Information
Wine Type: white
Vintage: 2020
Bottle Size: 750mL
Blend: Vermentinu
Appellation: Vin de France
Country: France
Region: Corsica
Producer: Antoine-Marie Arena
Winemaker: Antoine-Marie Arena
Vineyard: Planted in 2003, 1 ha
Soil: Limestone, chalk, clay
Aging: 12 months in neutral 300-L barrels
Farming: Organic (certified)
Alcohol: 12.5%

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About The Region

Corsica

map of 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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Kermit inspecting wine barrels

For the wines that I buy I insist that the winemaker leave them whole, intact. I go into the cellars now and select specific barrels or cuvées, and I request that they be bottled without stripping them with filters or other devices. This means that many of our wines will arrive with a smudge of sediment and will throw a more important deposit as time goes by, It also means the wine will taste better.