Good Things From Italy - Le Cose Buone d'Italia

Earlier this month, the Italian postal service issued a stamp commemorating the appellation Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Riserva DOCG (above). The stamp is one of fifteen to be issued in celebration of the more than 70 Italian DOCGs.

Tasting Notes:

A clear, almost colourless wine. I wasn’t sure whether or not the hint of peachiness in the wine was due to the red stains in the wine glasses we were using or because of some strangely coloured grape. Like Gewurztraminer.
The nose was weird. I captured little to no fruit – just an ethanol-like spice, a slight neutral vanilla fruitiness, and neutral wood. Further smelling revealed a flutter of apples and more notably, nuts. Vague floral notes. Not aromatic. A generally restrained character, and I determined that it was Old World – no doubt that this wouldn’t be from the realm of the New. Two colleagues guessed Chenin – notes of wet wool and river stones were mentioned.
Grüner, is that you? Maybe. Not enough acidity or life. Grüner is like that talkative friend. This wine is pretty closed.
Similar on the palate: restrained yet round, but not oily. A mineral and a subtle tongue-coating citrus pith flavour almost cancels out the medium acidity, but isn’t cloying because there’s not much to cloy, except a slight alcohol warmth. The alcohol is not low.
By no means did this wine seem anything that fit the diverse French moulds, nor the aromatic whites of Spain and Germany. Despite the lack in crispness, Italy seemed to be the one, with the all-neutral everything. Apparently correct.
Looking back at my grape chart, guesses of Fiano or Falanghina (whatever the hell that is) probably would’ve been the closest (due to mere descriptions). My guesses started with Arneis, then trailed on to Vermentino, Verdicchio, Pinot Grigio, Trebbiano, and then from there I attempted to just name all the white Italian grapes I knew. Chardonnay-like, even.
Who’d've thunk that this would be a Sangiovese (a red grape) without the red?! Crazy. Nerdy, even. Weird, especially because red Sangiovese typically has an undeniable aromatic savoury cherry character. Skins are important! Push down those grape skins. Pump them over. Oh, yes.
It’s funny, because I always jokingly guess white Sangiovese whenever I’m blinded with a white, but this is the one time it took me forever to get it.
I’ve had this wine be described to me before: memorable descriptions of red fruit have me believe that this wine is at it’s peak or over the hill (or that the taster might’ve been primed to pick up red fruit). If I was blindfolded, I’m pretty sure it would’ve been hard for me to guess the colour of the wine. In this wine, secondary characteristics reign!
If this wine isn’t weird to you, it should be. Sangiovese without the red is sort of like a hot dog without the bun, a pizza without tomato sauce, or a college party without alcohol. Doable. Tricky. Atypical.
Interesting? Assolutamente. Worth it? Maybe a year or so ago. Elegant and inoffensive at best.

Producer: Fattoria Colmone della Marca
Designation: Bianco del Moro
Region: Italy
Sub-Region: Marche
Variety: Sangiovese (without red pigment extraction)
ABV: 13.5%
Vintage: 2010
Tasted: February 23, 2013
Price: $38 (Liberty)

Delifonseca will host a special Italian Wine Evening on Tuesday, June 11 in association with Umani Ronchi Wine Estate and Enotria World Wines.

Starting at 7.30pm, head chef Andy Hutchinson and the team at the Stanley Street eatery will be serving a delicious set menu paired with four wonderful wines, enabling guests to learn all about their creation straight from the wine-maker Giorgio Pasanisi who will be on hand throughout the evening to talk and take questions.

With the first stirrings of summer heat, the crisp, citrusy allure of white wine beckons. Italian whites differ from California whites in that they are often a blend of citrus, almond, herbal, and mineral, less big fruit than a bewitching melange, mostly fermented in stainless steel instead of a toasted oak barrel, an interesting yet easy-drinking wine to ponder the questions of the ages.
Verdicchio is a characterful white wine that comes from the Le Marche region of Central Italy, just east of Tuscany on the coast. It’s a rugged region, sparsely populated, with a history of two wine grape varietals, Verdicchio for white and Montepulciano for red. Verdicchio comes in two distinct incarnations, the Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi (the biggest production, softer, rounder, and most easily found in this country) and the Verdicchio di Matelica (which is a sharper, more floral version). The Verdicchio del Castelli di Jesi springs from limestone soils, channeling its minerality into the body of the wine. Verdicchio means “little green one” in Italian, and its straw color with green tinges reflect that. A flavor profile of fresh apples, lemon (fruit, peel, and flowers), herbaceous notes, wet stone, and a slightly bitter toasted almond finish form the base for the wine. Crisp acidity, with medium alcohol, it is food-friendly (especially to fish) and an excellent aperitif. Once disparaged as a simple quaffing wine, Verdicchio’s quality has been improved in recent years by local producers, especially Garofali, who has mastered the incarnation of this grape.
At a recent Le Marche educational dinner seminar, conducted by the North American Sommelier Association, four Verdicchios were explored. The 2010 Bucci Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico was a pleasant aperitif, more golden delicious apple and almonds, with the vanilla touch of a brief time aged in oak. The 2011 Garofoli “Macrina” Verdicchio Classico Superiore was aromatic, elegant, yet crisp in its expression. Grapefruit, lemon, and lime notes frame the yellow plum, ripe apples, peaches, and mango flavors, with a long finish of slightly bitter hazelnut skin. The 2007 Villa Bucci Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Riserva was rounder, more elegant, full bodied and well balanced, with aromas and flavors of apricot compote, spice, hazelnut, honey, and flint. The oak and bottle aging contributed to the more savory character of the wine, with more spice, nuts, herbs, and mineral notes present over the fruit and floral of a younger wine. Finally, the 2010 Garofali Podium Verdicchio Classico Superiore offered up intense ripe apricot fruit, citrus, almond, a touch of honey, mineral notes, a hint of green hazelnut, no oak, and an intriguing salinity. This is not a simple wine, dry and crisp when young, but worthy of aging (it develops a deep golden hue and a ripe apricot flavor tinged with a burnt sugar note reminiscent of creme brulée), it has earned lots of notice from wine critics. and the influential Italian wine guide Gambero Rosso has bestowed the Tres Bicchieri (three glass) award to this wine.
Try Verdicchio for a change of pace, a savory, crisp white wine that complements seafood and fish, but stands on its own as a zesty, citrusy, almond-tinged aperitif, constantly refreshing the palate, and begging you to empty the glass.

Marche is an explosion of color, living Fauvism.

You’ll feel stupefied by such beauty, as you will by the wines of this region.
Juicy, tasteful, full bodied but subtle wines, marked by the inner story of this land. Every wine is a manifesto of a particular place, maybe where the Romans planted the first vineyard or where only few vignerons are still cultivating an ancient grape that none will ever know. And we have to thank them, because after years of perfecting their techniques, of searching for clones and selecting vines, we are all happy to enjoy the results of their endeavors, and we are not only speaking about great white wines like Verdicchio, but also about Sangiovese, Lacrima di Morro (produced exclusively in the village of Morro d’Alba), Montepulciano and Vernaccia di Serrapetrona, all native and ready to be discovered with a great Marche wine tour!

Color garmet red, clear with good effervescenze. The aroma is complex enough of rose and wilted violet, large cherries from Pistoia and strawberry. Lighty spicy of chocolate. In the mouth it is sweet, warm enough, fresh and plesantly fizzy. At the end it fades on sweet and ripe fruit. Bavarian mousse with fruits of the forest.

Location: Colleluce vineyards, planted in 1970, 20.00 Ha
Alcohol content: 11.5% - 12%
Percentage of dessicated grapes: from 55% to 60%
Froth Time: 8/9 months
Pairings: Ideal for pastry cakes dry, sparkling wine can be good meditation
Serving temperature: 8 ° - 10 ° C
Standard Packaging: 0.75 liter - 1.5 liter Magnum