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2021 Patrimonio Rouge “Grotte di Sole”

Jean-Baptiste Arena
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If a northern Corsican cuvée named for a sunny grotto doesn’t pique your curiosity, perhaps a bit of background on the lieu-dit might. Niellucciu grows here on decomposed limestone with whole fossils in the soil, basking in the warmth of a full sun. Made by the weathered hands of a born-and-bred Corsican farmer, in the most wild and glorious setting, it’s a wine from a parcel that offers density and chew in the glass. Brooding with black pepper and anise, this is your pairing for whole sausages grilled in a giant coil, a fennel gratin, or any other classic meat-and-potato entrée to stick to your ribs as the weather cools down.

Jane Augustine

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Technical Information
Wine Type: red
Vintage: 2021
Bottle Size: 750mL
Blend: Niellucciu
Appellation: Vin de France
Country: France
Region: Corsica
Producer: Jean-Baptiste Arena
Winemaker: Jean-Baptiste Arena
Vineyard: 60 years, 1 ha
Soil: Clay, Limestone
Farming: Organic (certified)
Alcohol: 13.5%

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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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Old cob-webbed wine bottles

Living wines have ups and downs just as people do, periods of glory and dog days, too. If wine did not remind me of real life, I would not care about it so much.

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