Bricks Wine Advent Calendar 2017: Day 11

11 12 2017

By Raymond Lamontagne

One certainly learns a lot working through an advent calendar. Providing a detailed commentary for each wine puts this learning into hyperdrive. There are producers and methods to investigate. Sometimes there are grape varieties that I need to research further before delving into the tasting per se. This is one of those times, although this grape is far from rare and I know I’ve had it before. Learning a little beforehand or refreshing one’s knowledge base provides scaffolding for those treasured “in the moment” experiences. This enhances memory for what you taste and smell. The act of paying careful attention on purpose is hard work. Although I prefer to share actual tasting impressions with others after I’ve partaken, to avoid (added) sensory bias, I am a firm believer in having this framework of semantic knowledge ready to go beforehand. This allows one to note the expected structural features and aromas quickly, freeing up mental processing resources for focusing on anything that seems out of place. One could debate the merits and drawbacks of this approach. It works well for me.

Party up top, business below.

In his encyclopedic opus of Italian wine grapes, Ian D’Agata makes a solid case for Verdicchio being Italy’s greatest native white. Versatile, capable of aging, full of aromas described as lemony and almond-like, and showing an affinity for oak, this bright green wonder typically produces lighter and highly floral wines in Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, one of the major DOCGs in the Marche. The latter has been described as producing “cheerful and simple” fare, although this may downplay how good these wines can be. The New York Times recently identified Verdicchio as a “hip varietal”. Yields have dropped and the region is starting to shed its reputation for frivolity due to a previous emphasis on cheesy amphora-shaped containers. These latter vessels look like a cross between King Tut’s scepter and something one could find in an adult novelty store. Circuitous geographical musings and botanical studies of both genetics and morphology have revealed that this grape is identical to the well-regarded Trebbiano di Soave and therefore probably originated in Tuscany, brought to current alternative stronghold the Marche by Tuscan farmers who resettled the land after a severe bout of plague.

Italian wine label with an f-ton of script. Don’t sweat it. Key details explained below!

D’Agata and myriad wine critics regard Villa Bucci as one of the finest di Jesi producers. Bucci offers age-worthy bottles full of finesse, floral perfume, and primary fruit. “Classico” means the grapes were grown in a traditionally favored hilly area near the town of Cupano. Grapes hail from four organically farmed high altitude vineyards (Villa Bucci, Bellucio, Montefiore, and Baldo), each vinified separately. Vines are about 45 years old. Although DOCG rules allow for up to 15% Malvasia Toscana to be included, this is 100% Verdicchio. Grapes are gently crushed under cold temperatures and aged in large used oak barrels for four months, permitting micro-oxygenation but minimal seepage of flavors into the wine.

Cork Score = 8.0 … Actual winery is named with decent font. Some empty space but lofts are still “in”, no? Not depicted: A funky graphic intended to evoke a very pleasant farm.

The Villa Bucci Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore 2016! Nose features a stark minerality right out of the gate … Wet gravel with flecks of table salt and potash. Some low key fruits emerge next: Green apple (including a slight whiff of brown apple oxidation), lemon rind, maybe green tangerine, white blossoms (gardenia, a personal favorite scent, or the aforementioned apple). Palate largely echoes the nose but with more tangy fresh fruits: Bitter orange and almonds, lime, lemon, Granny Smith. Like a Five Alive or similar beverage without any sugar, if said beverage featured a few additional flagellations of acid and some serious added calcium. This has more minerals than it does vowels in the entire handle that I typed out above. Crisp, taut, and broad, with enough primary fruit to save it from an experience not far off rock climbing in a glass. I dig. Or rather, I chip away at a frozen orange entombed in gypsum. We’re back, baby.