Today’s story takes us to the Marche region, in the area of the Castelli di Jesi, on the hills of the Municipality of Cupramontana. Here, for four generations, the Azienda Agricola Vallerosa Bonci has been operating, and has become a point of reference for the production of Verdicchio, today led by the sisters Valentina and Fabiola.
The farm has 26 hectares of vineyards that are under organic conversion. On the right bank of the Esino river, in the historic area of the Castelli di Jesi, at 400 meters above sea level, there is Contrada San Michele and the same-named vineyard, a company’s cru, from whose Verdicchio grapes are grown to produce the wine focus of our story.
The vineyard is about fifty years old, with a planting density of 2500-3000 vines per hectare. The total vineyard size does not exceed 4 hectares and has south exposure, while the calcareous-chalky soil is ideal for the growth of Verdicchio grapes. The vineyard aspect, the wide diurnal range as well as the high continentality, create an ideal ecosystem that favours the stability of the aromatic precursors that we find in the elegance and finesse of the wine’s aroma.
We tasted San Michele 2021, the result of an overall warm but fairly regular vintage. The winter was not too cold with normal rainfall and was followed by a light spring frost at the beginning of April; thankfully it took place before the budburst. During the spring, there was a strong heat wave with little rainfall. The early veraison foreshadowed an early harvest, necessary to maintain an adequate acidity and not too high sugar levels. During harvest, that took place in the first decade of September, there were some rainfall that mitigated, a little, the hot summer, allowing a rebalance of sugar and the acidity concentration.
Let’s move on to the tasting of Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore San Michele 2021.
The wine is of a beautiful straw yellow colour, with golden glow. On the nose we perceived refined hints of yellow flowers such as acacia and mimosa, followed by fruity peach, citrus and exotic fruits, such as pineapple. Mineral notes, suitable scents of hazelnut, and hints of anise and aromatic herbs come after. On the palate, the taste is warm and tasty, elegant and enveloping, with great balance between softness, acidity and flavour. It’s a long lasting and full-bodied wine, with an almond aftertaste.
We loved the wine very much and we tasted it with a swordfish and baked potatoes. The dish enhanced the freshness of the wine, as well as the taste-olfactory complexity.
