Mathieu et Julie Marfisi, Clos Marfisi, Patrimonio
AOC: Patrimonio
Varieties: Niellucciu, Vermentinu, Muscat Blanc a Petite Grains
Viticulture: Organic (ECOCERT)
Size: 15 hectares
Terroirs: Limestone
Varieties: Niellucciu, Vermentinu, Muscat Blanc a Petite Grains
Viticulture: Organic (ECOCERT)
Size: 15 hectares
Terroirs: Limestone
If you aren’t familiar with Corsica, the main event is Patrimonio. This AOC covers 400ha with half of them being owned by the two largest producers, and the other half split up amongst 30 smaller growers. If you haven’t already guessed, Clos Marfisi is part of the latter. Brother and sister, Mathieu and Julie are fifth generation at the helm of this estate, having taken over from their father, Touissant, when Julie returned in 2001, and her brother in 2012, from having careers elsewhere in France.
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Now, we thought that we had seen it all in terms of limestone, but Corsica takes the cake. Clos Marfisi’s vineyards (which Touissant planted about 40-50 years ago) rise up from the Mediterranean with southern and western exposures on steep slopes that are practically white with large chunks of broken up limestone. Seriously impressive. Equally impressive is the fact that they never gave into outside pressure and the entirety of the estate is planted to local varieties, so you won’t find any Grenache here. Their father is still very active in the vineyards, and is the main reason that this estate has never been touched by pesticides or herbicides, which were shunned for one reason or another by previous generations of vignerons on the island. This commitment to organics continues and the estate will be certified Bio by the 2018 vintage. Vestiges of the old guard remain in the cellar as well where native yeasts have always been used for fermentations, and sulfur levels are kept to a minimum.
As president of the Patrimonio AOC, Mathieu has a clear vision for where the estate is headed, and we like what we are seeing. Their commitment to honoring the past while shaping their own future is incredibly exciting to us.
As president of the Patrimonio AOC, Mathieu has a clear vision for where the estate is headed, and we like what we are seeing. Their commitment to honoring the past while shaping their own future is incredibly exciting to us.
WINES
Cuvee Julie: 95% Niellucciu - 5% Vermentinu. Direct pressing. Vinification and aging in stainless steel. Julie's favorite wine and the perfect pairing for the hot Corsican summers. Crisp and refreshing.
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Rose d'une Nuit: 100% Niellucciu, a grape variety long native to the region. Grown in estate vineyards not touched by chemicals. Direct to press for 95% of the cuvée and 5% from a red vat that has macerated overnight. Vinification and aging were done in stainless steel vats.
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Patrimonio Blanc “Grotta di Sole”: Made from 100% Vermentinu from the limestone soils mentioned above, it is fermented naturally in stainless steel before being racked into cement vats. One of the vats went through malolactic fermentation, the other didn’t, and the tanks were blended after 5 months for bottling. Very low SO2.
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Patrimonio Rouge “Gritole”: 100% Niellucciu from vines planted in 1990 facing west; all limestone soils in a parcel closer to the austere coastline. Very gentle pressing into stainless for fermentation, with 18 months of élevage in cement. An almost translucent purple in the glass, this is an approachable wine, meant to be consumed in its youth, served slightly chilled.
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Patrimonio Rouge “Ravagnola”: 100% Niellucciu from 20 year old vines trained Gobelet. West-facing slopes looking out over the ocean, soils are silt and clay on limestone. Destemmed, no food treading, 15 days maceration, light daily pumpovers, pressed and aged in tank for two years before bottling.
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UVA: A blend of 25 % Minustellu, 25% Carcaghjolu Neru (both local, oft overlooked grapes), and 50% Niellucciu, all sourced from the Ravagnola vineyard. Fermented and aged in stainless steel. Carcaghjolu Neru: 15 day maceration half destemmed half whole cluster with light daily pumpovers. Minustellu: same but all destemmed. Niellucciu: direct press and vinified like a rose before blending with the other two. After blending, aged one year in tank.
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Patrimonio mon Amour: In 2020 Mathieu injured his back and couldn't get on a tractor for months, so all his friends — Thomas Santamaria, Nicolas Mariotti Bindi, and Jean-Baptiste Arena took care of working the vineyards for him, so he decided to make a wine called "Patriomonio Mon Amour" as a thank you. It’s a friendly, glou glou with very little extraction and no SO2 added during vinification. Four days maceration whole cluster with first-harvest niellucciu from the Grotta di Sole and Ravagnola parcels. Fresh, not overly complex, and highly drinkable.
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Les Nuits Rouges: A pitch-perfect, zero SO2-added carbonic maceration of niellucciu. In experimenting with different maceration techniques, this stands out to us as it’s the direction Mathieu is looking at taking with certain wines, and it’s very successful. It’s a complex and thirst-quenching wine, that doesn’t sacrifice a bit of structure or seriousness.
8 months élevage in stainless steel. The grapes come from both the Gritole and Ravagnola parcels. |
Clair Obscur: Blanc de Noir of Nielluciu from Ravagnola. Grapes crushed by gravity, no pressing. Settling in the cold for 24 hours and then fermented with native yeasts. Aged for 10 months in tank, bottled without filtering. White yields were low in 2022 so it made sense to make a blanc de noir.
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Muscat du Cap Corse: This is a very traditional wine from the island, made from the grape Muscat Blanc a Petit Grains. Even though this style has been made here for centuries, it was only granted AOC status in 1993. At Clos Marfisi, the grapes are left to dry in the sun, concentrating their sugars, and then pressed into tank to begin fermentation. It is then fortified to halt primary fermentation resulting in a decadently sweet wine, but that still has enough acidity to maintain balance. This wine would age particularly well.