Patrimonio is an appellation for white, red and rosé wines from the southern tip of the Cap Corse peninsula in Corsica, an island in the Mediterranean Sea between France and Italy. The communes involved are Barbaggio, Farinole, Oletta, Poggio-d'Oletta, Saint-Florent, Santo-Pietro-di-Tenda and Patrimonio itself. The soils of the valleys and hillsides of this region are distinct from the rest of the island in that they are largely composed of calcareous clay and limestone. The majority of Patrimonio's vineyards are located on the coast of the Gulf of St.
Florent, whose Clear blue waters attract crowds of tourists in the summer. Because of this ready-made consumer base, only a small percentage of Patrimonio wine leaves Corsica. The wines are made from traditional Grape varieties, with 100% Vermentino for the whites and 90% Sangiovese (called Nielluccio here) for the reds and rosés, with a hint of Grenache or Sciaccarello. .
Layers of colour in the sky before me: indigo, peach, salmon. In the rear-view mirror, the gold was catching fire. As I drove down through the lonely, Mistral-chilled vines of Babeau-Bouldoux towards nearby St-Chinian, I was thinking about what Christine Deleuze of Clos Bagatelle had just said. ‘When you came to visit 10 years ago,’ she reminded me, ‘you said we needed to wait another decade for a market breakthrough. Today you’ve said we need to wait another decade or two. So when, exactly, wil ...
Andrea Franchetti, one of the most talented and visionary Italian producers, has died at the age of 72 in Rome. In 30 years exactly, he positioned his superTuscan Trinoro among the top Italian references, producing a wine with stylish elegance and outstanding potential for ageing. Franchetti’s Bordeaux blends were without the over-extractions that were on-trend in the 2000s, nor the excess of fruit following phenolic maturity. He followed a precise idea to produce classic wines for the long haul ...
At a lunch in Brussels, the 2021 PFV ‘Family is Sustainability’ prize was presented to Jan Strick and his son Matthijs of Maison Bernard, who triumphed over more than 100 applicants from around the world to win the €100,000 (£84,000) award. ‘Selection was difficult,’ said Matthieu Perrin, president of the PFV, ‘but ultimately the jury felt that Maison Bernard is a brilliant example of exquisite handicraft and the maintenance of an ancient artisanal tradition in family hands, exactly as we fight ...
