Bucci Verdicchio Classico Castelli di Jesi Riserva is regarded as one of Italy's premier white wines and one of the only wines from Le Marche to continually receive the prestigious Tre Bicchiere award from Gambero Rosso year after year. Made from the increasingly fashionable Verdicchio grape this wine is Le Marche's sweetheart and the optimum expression of the varietal. No producer gives better service to Verdicchio, a grape getting more and more attention recently due to its great acidity and nutty character and no producer is better at giving the grape life as this white is capable of becoming rich and elegant with ageing capabilities of 6-10 years in great vintages.Having never covered a wine from Le Marche on the blog I thought it about high time. Le Marche is not generally known for its wine. This is an area held in a rather low regard by many Italians as being less rich in culture, cuisine and wine but outside of Italy the Ex-pats of Europe and the USA and pouring forth into the region attracted by low house prices, a coast and the jewel in Le Marche's crown, Urbino, a world heritage site, a glorious walled hilltop town rivalling any in Tuscany and Umbria with a fascinating history. Wiki it! Fascinated?
In fact, I myself went house hunting in Le Marche, travelling up and down the coast and falling in love with another fantastic hilltop town, Macerata. So I have been raring to taste the 2005 effort from Villa Bucci having been, along with the rest of the world, so impressed by the 2004. However it is the 2001 vintage that scooped the Italian White Wine of the Year award with Gambero Rosso and apparently is still alive and kicking, complex and long. If you've tried this wine leave a comment, please!
So who are these Villa Bucci sorts? Well, Villa Bucci is a long established producer in the Verdicchio DOC region close to the town of Corinaldo, a few miles inland from Senigalia. With 25 hectares, most of this Verdicchio, Ampelio Bucci employs rigorous grape selection with yields of 2.9 tons per acre and am ample 18 months in Slavonian oak for the vineyards masterpiece, the Riserva. Also producing a high quality standard label Verdicchio and an interesting Red, the "Rosso" is 70% Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and 30% Sangiovese. To the left is the villa of the Bucci family standing within the grounds of the 990 acre property. I would be jealous except for the toil and time poured into this fabulous Italian wine that I highly recommend. Say no to PG!
Bucci Verdicchio Classico Castelli di Jesi Riserva 2005 - BUY - €30
Crisp Golden colour in the glass. Really interesting nose, smokey notes, stones as well as fruit, lots of apple as well as almonds - butter spread on apricot stones! The kind of wine that gives you something new on the nose with every sniff! On the palate the flavours are so clean and pure, a little biscuity with a long 20-30 second finish. A wine for sea food without question. 92 Points
So, laying €30 on an Italian white wine is probably not something you do often, neither do I, but this is sheer classic Italian wine making and an experience in itself. Get someone else to buy you a bottle.
So whats coming up on the blog in February? I've just splurged at BBR to bring you wines all month from the four corners of the world but with a few extra special Italian wines in the mix. None of this is for my pleasure. It's all for you. Following yesterdays rant about Schioppettino I've bought in the latest from Ronco del Gnemiz as well as previously untasted Primitivo and Nero d'Avola at the budget end. Outside of the Italian wines there is a grand old Rioja, a Malbec, Californian Syrah, a Burgundy, and a couple from Bonny Doon, as well as the 2008 Sauv Blanc from Cloudy Bay.
Where can I buy this wine?
Americans - Winebuys - $32
Europeans - Molisini - €30
Brits - Goose Egg - You can't, once again.
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Whats coming up for you, wine wise, this month? Or any wise, what you up to!
