A Corsican Revolution
A Corsican Revolution
Things can be hard to put into words. Especially in wine, it’s hard to capture the landscape and vineyards; the intensive work put in by vignerons the world over; the smell of fermentation in the cellar. Small things like what’s literally sitting in your glass on the table can be hard to translate even for the most seasoned professional. Even we, as veteran wine importers and industry people, often lean on terms like terroir and tradition to convey abstract concepts about all sorts of things — and that’s fine. But sometimes, you get to see all of the above first-hand and it makes you remember that there are in fact concrete tangibles in all of this, and it starts with people, soil, vines, and a drive to make the best wine possible.
Being fresh back from a trip across the pond visiting producers for the first time in almost two years brought this into focus, but not in any place more than Corsica, Patrimonio to be specific. Although we’ve been working here for a few years now, every time we visit there’s something new to be learned. There’s always new arguments that pop up at the dinner table. A never-ending march of new wines to taste in the cellar. Each person has new theories to be implemented in the coming years, often with strong insight and cooperation from their peers. It’s intoxicating (pun intended) to be surrounded by a group so impassioned as the crew we’ve got together on this island in the Mediterranean. There’s no other way to put it: we’re talking about a Corsican Revolution.
No, we’re not talking about their prior campaigns for independence. We’re talking about farming practices and winemaking techniques, and in both arenas our very own “Gang of Four” in Patrimonio are continually pushing the envelope vintage after vintage, reshaping our own understanding of the appellation before our eyes.
Mathieu (Clos Marfisi), in his role as President of the Patrimonio AOC, has officially banned the use of glysophate (Round Up) as well as employing a very deft use of carbonic maceration in recent years.
Nicolas Mariotti Bindi has been experimenting with high-density plantings for years, even forgoing the AOC to be able to work his vineyards in the manner he chooses, not to mention a constant search for perfection in the cellar.
Thomas Santamaria is working to take his family’s historic domaine into the future with new interpretations of classic wines, foraying into deeper, darker rosés, skin contact whites, and effusive, singular reds all while honoring the impeccable work done in the vines.
And Marie-Charlotte Pinelli, the youngest and newest winemaker to the scene, has just harvested her first crop from a new plantation that will never see herbicides or pesticides and is constantly working on different ideas in the cellar (as evidenced by her brand-new Vin de France Rouge offered below).
We could go on and on about all of this, but that’s for a conversation over a glass of one of the wines below. For now, we’ll leave it at just that — a revolution — since we’re having a hard time coming up with a better word.
Things can be hard to put into words. Especially in wine, it’s hard to capture the landscape and vineyards; the intensive work put in by vignerons the world over; the smell of fermentation in the cellar. Small things like what’s literally sitting in your glass on the table can be hard to translate even for the most seasoned professional. Even we, as veteran wine importers and industry people, often lean on terms like terroir and tradition to convey abstract concepts about all sorts of things — and that’s fine. But sometimes, you get to see all of the above first-hand and it makes you remember that there are in fact concrete tangibles in all of this, and it starts with people, soil, vines, and a drive to make the best wine possible.
Being fresh back from a trip across the pond visiting producers for the first time in almost two years brought this into focus, but not in any place more than Corsica, Patrimonio to be specific. Although we’ve been working here for a few years now, every time we visit there’s something new to be learned. There’s always new arguments that pop up at the dinner table. A never-ending march of new wines to taste in the cellar. Each person has new theories to be implemented in the coming years, often with strong insight and cooperation from their peers. It’s intoxicating (pun intended) to be surrounded by a group so impassioned as the crew we’ve got together on this island in the Mediterranean. There’s no other way to put it: we’re talking about a Corsican Revolution.
No, we’re not talking about their prior campaigns for independence. We’re talking about farming practices and winemaking techniques, and in both arenas our very own “Gang of Four” in Patrimonio are continually pushing the envelope vintage after vintage, reshaping our own understanding of the appellation before our eyes.
Mathieu (Clos Marfisi), in his role as President of the Patrimonio AOC, has officially banned the use of glysophate (Round Up) as well as employing a very deft use of carbonic maceration in recent years.
Nicolas Mariotti Bindi has been experimenting with high-density plantings for years, even forgoing the AOC to be able to work his vineyards in the manner he chooses, not to mention a constant search for perfection in the cellar.
Thomas Santamaria is working to take his family’s historic domaine into the future with new interpretations of classic wines, foraying into deeper, darker rosés, skin contact whites, and effusive, singular reds all while honoring the impeccable work done in the vines.
And Marie-Charlotte Pinelli, the youngest and newest winemaker to the scene, has just harvested her first crop from a new plantation that will never see herbicides or pesticides and is constantly working on different ideas in the cellar (as evidenced by her brand-new Vin de France Rouge offered below).
We could go on and on about all of this, but that’s for a conversation over a glass of one of the wines below. For now, we’ll leave it at just that — a revolution — since we’re having a hard time coming up with a better word.