Verdicchio: Italy' S Best Value White? Its Hard to Go Wrong with the Versatile Dry Whites from Picturesque Wines Marche on Central Italy' S East Coast

PAESE :Regno unito AUTORE : Unattributed PAGINE :90 SUPERFICIE :216 %

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Verdicchio: Italy' s best value white? Its hard to go wrong with the versatile dry whites from picturesque wines Marche on central italy' s east coast . Vet these are also of many subtle facets . Monty Waldin highlights some top producers

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IFASKED TO design an Italian white wine ( hectares) of vines . While working in Germany grape for those who are super-decisive when and Alsace he learned that returning to pick Verdicchio clothes or even a the same vine over a of choosing wallpaper dressing plot piecemeal period at a glance for their salad, but whose indecision becomes days or even weeks allows every bunch to be overwhelming when selecting a white wine picked perfectly ripe. Verdicchio dei di with a label unfamiliar to them , then Marchionni then learned to press the Castel! Jestand Verdicchio di Verdicchio isas safe abet as they come. grapes asthey do in Champagne , meaning as Matelica both Verdicchio- pronounced Ver-dik-ee-oh' gently as possible , to avoid any bitterness. ' come from 85%% rather than Ver-ditch-ee-oh' - is grown in I aim for Verdicchio that' s crisp but tastes . In nor minimum three north-easterly Italian regions Soave neither green unripe ,' Marchionni says. in the Veneto , it is barely even a bit-part player , His Verdicchios combine textural depth with Verdicchio grapes relegated to the toughest ,windiest sites extraordinary levity and have the kind of Warmedby the because growers there don' t trust it enough to nervy , crystalline smoothness and intensity Adriatic sea.Jesi stay rot-free .Next door in Lug,ana, however. that demonstrate both Matelica' s claim to Verdicchios are Verdicchio has become arguably Italy' s most greatness and why Verdicchio can justifiably mellow ambitiously priced dry white . This is because claim to be Italy' s premier native white grape. yellowfruitedwhites with Lug,ana' s Verdicchio (called Turbiana locally) White wine grapes aspiring to greatness a salty twist grows right next to Lake need other attributes , such as Withno coastal a draw to and Garda, huge for Werdicchio can an ability age develop influence Matelica German , in oak in bottle or wealthy day-trippers beautifully Verdicchios get who load their cars with wine to in both . ticks all their white justifiabl y claim ' pristine before returning home. of those boxes. saysAmpelio fruit flavours from Luckily , Verdicchio vines Bucci, Verdicchio' s elder beItaly' s premier cool mountain were taken from Lugana and statesman and another of breezes Soave 400 around years ago Italy' s greatest white wine native white grape' Jesi and planted by traders and (as to white produces growers opposed around 23million migrants re-populating wine makers) . bottles annually. abandoned land further south , in the Marche Bucci created what became Verdicchio' s It is10 times bigger region Italy' s Adriatic coast. oak-aged riserva category in the early 1980s along than Matelica when he installed vats made of Slavonian oak Aiming for perfection holding between 6,600 and 10.000 bottles. Drystill whites . Marche has two distinct areas for Verdicchio , His observation that ' commercially it was hard predominate Fully which centre on the hilltop towns of being the first in the market with this idea' is a sparkling inland in the hills and jesi ( pronounced delightful understatement given the tide of ( spumante)and still sweet white Yay-zee' ) closer to the coast (seebox). jesi stainless steel and French oak barrels that Verdicchio iscalled Verdicchio dei Castelli di were flushing out the historic oak vats from ( passito) wines s are permitted Iesi, because of the medieval fortifications that Italy' wineries at that time. characterise it and its surrounding towns. Bucci swam against this tide arguing: Theproducer' s

' The rolling hilly terrain is essentially a Large oak vats allowed my Verdicchio to taste name isasurer former seabed sculpted by local rivers . ' The not of oak but of Verdicchio , or the Marche. indication of result is soil that isvery rich in nutrients .' says And by allowing the wine to breathe the oak quality than terms Lorenzo Marotti Campi of the Marotti Campi sets the wine up for astrong healthy life once like classic°

' winery in lesi. ' This means our Verdicchio inside the bottle . The producer' s top-end Villa or superiore grapes ripen easily . But the trick is to ensure Bucci RiservaVerdicchios easily retain their 120Verdicchio texture a or balance , by picking Verdicchio at the right mouthwateringly waxy for decade producers make time , with ripe flavours of white field flowers two , as reviving as MAconnais Chardonnay but 5.000 bottles or . with a more diverse and lightly salted almonds Overripe grapes payload of savoury-smooth more annually create heaviness and too much alcohol .' His white and fruits on the yellow mid-palate. 5%%of Marche Salma no. Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Verdicchio is bottling isa wonderful example of how rich Progressive thinking exported but smoothly proportioned Verdicchio can be. But decade-old Verdicchios , however youthful. Fabio of Collestefano in the tasting . are only ever going to be a niche. The notably cooler, inland Matelica sub-zone is kind of wines everyday consumers are likely to equally obsessed with picking every bunch find most easily, and most affordably , will tend perfectly ripe . started his garage. to come from the half-dozen or soVerdicchio style operation from scratch , with only 3.Sha producers with a million or more bottles to sell each year .such as Fazi-Battaglia (creator of Left: theColle del Solewinery owned byMonte Verdicchio' s iconic amphora bottle) . Monte Schiavo, one of the larger producers ,and Garofoli as well as from

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but even between wines from the co-operatives such as Moncaro Terre Cortesi sub-regions , same town .' and Colonnara - 4%% of the Marche' s Verdicchio For Dottori are comes from co-ops , and these two are widely example , explains that there

25 towns in the area . ' Each has Verdicchio regarded as among Italy' s very best. vines all four of the , Colonnara , founded in 1959 . led the way in facing points compass and the are rarely on flat but making terroir-specific Verdicchios such as its vineyards ground on . This matrix means waxy-crisp Cuprese (after Cupramontana , the slopes topographical that each has its own air currents town in which the winery is located) from vineyard and that each vine will have a different 1985 , and the more tangerine-like Tiifico from to the sun to that of its a vineyard on sandy-clay or tuff (rhymes with relationship

,' he `roof' ) soils from 1998. neighbour says. He believes this drives the differences in Moncaro Terre Cortesi has spent the last 15 mouthfeel flavour and of the years investing in its grape growers , helping intensity grapes. ' who in from a many to go organic despite organics usually Larger producers buy grapes wide of vine will blend them meaning lower grape yields , when the whole range plots so that those different individual point -usually - of co-ops is to have growers together

flavour characteristics are evened out ,' he grow as much as they can , and then some. says. The conclusion is that Marche in fact leads Italy for organics with wines from the should convince of the 2%% of its wine production (rather than its bigger producers you brilliance the in vineyard surface area) organic . This is due to of Verdicchio , grape . general ; while wines from the smaller can Marche being a latecomer to agricultural producers industrialisation , its population having barely further reveal the brilliant individuality that increased since the 1950s . and it being off the Verdicchio can attain in the different beaten track in terms of motorway access. villages ' of Matelica (eight) and Jesi (25) in which it is Organics make sense ,' asserts Alessandro grown . Either , Verdicchio to be as Fenino of biodynamic pieva winery in way appears ' safe a bet as they come . You get smaller Verdicchio grapes with thicker skins . They prevent rot in autumn when mists Waldin is a wine writer , and roll in from the Adriatic . Thicker skins let you Monty grower ' consultant with a long-standing specialism in pick later for greater ripeness and flavour . biodynamics and organics Individual brilliance The matrix means Pievalta has a patchwork of vines and makes topographical each two single terroir wines: the earlier-ripening has its own air currents and Pievalta from sit es near the Adriatic , and the vineyard

San Paolo from a higher . cooler site further eachvine will have a different relationship inland . The wines reflect the differences in to the sun' Corrado Dottori , La Distesa taste each site provides. Corrado Dottori of the organic La Distesa winery in Jesi believes that terroir-d riven wines like his single-vineyard Verdicchio Gli Eremi , which comes from a sunny slope in a

cool valley , are a ' logical step for smaller

producers' . Such smaller-scale producers make Verdicchio from unique single sites with distinct taste characteristics , and , says

Dottori: ' They reveal the incredible range of subtle shades Verdicchio has, not just between the inland Matelica and more maritime

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Above: Corrado Dottori and Valeria Bochi from the organic La Distesa

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Waldin' s top 11 Verdicchios from Marche

Collestefano , Verdicchlo di Burgundy in shape but more tactile. La Distesa , Eremi , Marche Bianco Matelica 2015 96 creamier and brighter fruited: a benchmark 2014 94 it Tutto LesCaves de Pyrene white style . I' d recommend you only chill £32 Crystalline Verdicchio which is lightly when serving though . Organic. Made from grapes grown in a vineyard made from grapes that are Drink 2017-2025 Alc 13.5%% that' s a high bowl-shaped suntrap in hand-picked in multiple stages. Cupramontana . It is this , and staggered The palate offers up layers of San Paolo , picking to enure perfect ripeness that gives flavour from invigorating lime Verdicchlo del Castelli di Jest this Verdicchio its breadth and an almost citrus , via softer greengage to Classico Superior Risenra exotic feel . Bottled as an IGT since 2013. soothing ripe watermelon . This is 2012 95 Drink 2017-2023 Alc 13%% a wonderful tongue-tingling £14 .95 Vintage Roots wine made to crunch slowly . Organic. Pievalta' s flagship Verdicchio Pievaita , Verdicchlo del Casteill Jesi

Drink 2017-2025 Alcohol 12.5%% comes from a cool hilly site in aassico Superior° 2015 93 inlandManz Cupramontana with warm £10.95 Vintage Roots Bucd , Villa Bucci , Verdicchio del friable soil .This is precise and Pievalta' s entry-level Verdicchio comes Castelll di Jesi Classico Superiore clear with salty notes . A refined from a warmer more Adriatic-influenced RIsenra 2013 95 understated and pure example site than its San Paolo single-vineyard E31.99 Hedonism of Verdicchio . which also possesses reams expression . This makes for a richer , more

Ampelio Bucci' s flagship isa reviver for of attractive citrus fruit character. exotic but still savoury and intense wine.

both body and spirit . It' s like white Biodynamic . Drink 2017-2025 Alc 13%% Biodynamic . Drink 2017-2020 13%%

Right: Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi from Fazi Battaglia winery

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Andrea Felici , Verdicchio dei di Tenuta di Tavignano , Misco , Verdicchio Casalfarneto , Grancasale , Verdicchio Jesi Classico Superiore 2015 dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore £13.95Latimer Vintners , Lea Sandeman 2015 2013 it A Verdicchio from Apiro meaning that it' s N/ A UK www .tenutaditavignano . N/ A UK www .cassitamitoit influenced more by the cool Apennine Up-and-coming estate under Stefano From a high , inland site ( from the mountain winds than by the balmy Adriatic Aymerich and Beatrice Lucangeli . Their Adriatic) , so picked late for extra ripeness. breezes . Has good , bright , creamy yellow Verdicchio combines youthful exuberance , Vibrant almond and liquorice flavours fruit on the palate that shows beautiful old -vine waxiness and purity . In organic across a creamy mouthfeel from ageing in

width and mouthwatering precision. conversion . Drink 2017-2025 Alc 14%% large oak vats Drink 2017-2020 Alc 13%%

Organic . Drink 2017-2025 Alc 13%% Garofoli , Podium , Verdicchio Umani Ronchi , Casal di Serra , Belisario , Vigneti B, dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Verdicchio di Matelica 2014 Superiore 2012 Superiore 2015 90 92 £26 .03 ( 2013) Monthal £12 .50 Great Western Wine £17.99 The Wine Reserve As consistent an unoaked Five months ageing on its yeast in tank (no ll Matelica' s co-operative is Verdicchio as you' find since its oak) has accentuated the peachily

Verdicchio di Matelica' s largest debut 1991vintage . This always seductive creaminess provided by naturally producer . Its organic bottling has almond and yellow citrus low-yielding vines grown on valley slopes. shows an almost honeyed but flavours and in warmer vintages A really classy crowd-pleaser in the mood still savoury note , thanks to the like 2012 . yellow peach too. for food . Organic . Drink 2017-2020 Alc 13%% that face south in full sun. Food-friendly and IMOvinesDrink 2017-2020 Alc 13%% thirstquenching. Drink 2017-2020 Alc 14%% For full details of UK stockists , see p104