Antoine-Marie Arena rips a fistful of weeds from beneath a vine, shakes the dirt off the roots, and thrusts it toward us. My colleagues and I lean in, inhaling the herbaceous, apothecary-like scent. It’s called inule visqueuse, and it grows wild all over the rugged slope we’re currently scrambling up. Despite the blazing Corsican sun, Antoine-Marie reassures us there is plenty of water in the soil here to support his vines, along with the plethora of flora we’re surrounded by: maquis, immortelle, ryegrass, wild carrot, St. John’s Wort. We shakily continue our climb behind a quick and surefooted Antoine-Marie, whose spirit animal is almost certainly a mountain goat.
     The view from the top is worth it. Standing in his newest vineyard beneath the peaks of Mont Sant’Angelo, Antoine-Marie proudly points out his other holdings amid the green and gold patchwork of the valley below. Among them, his prized Bianco Gentile vines in the San Giovanni lieu-dit. Back in the ’90s, his father, Antoine, was among a small band of Corsican vignerons who saved the indigenous grape from the brink of extinction. It’s thrived here ever since, under the dutiful care of Antoine—and now, Antoine-Marie. He typically picks his “B.G.” early, allowing him to maintain a fresh, chiseled profile and low alcohol. Too ripe, the grape will yield intensely tropical, weighty wines—this isn’t the house style. Antoine-Marie’s methods preserve minerality and offer us a more restrained expression that is lean and refreshing in its youth. With age, the nose will blossom beautifully to reveal layers of sunsoaked maquis, wildflowers, and waxy honeycomb.