Eighteen varieties on one hectare
In the 1960s Antoine Abbatucci, president of the Corsican Chamber of Agriculture, took cuttings from vines that nobody on the island tended any more.
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Of the three Collection wines, the Général 2017 is the oldest we have. Anyone who wants to get to know the collection will find the 2017 in the set alongside the two Faustines.
From the wine letter
In the 1960s Antoine Abbatucci, president of the Corsican Chamber of Agriculture, took cuttings from vines that nobody on the island tended any more. He planted them on one hectare of granite hillside, a row for each variety. By 1962 there were eighteen. Alongside Sciaccarello and Nielluccio grew varieties such as Morescola and Paga Debiti. To this day the three wines of the Collection come from this hectare.
His son Jean-Charles converted to biodynamics. Ploughing is done by horse, and in winter sheep graze between the vines. Because the Corse appellation allows no more than ten per cent of such secondary varieties, Jean-Charles bottles his wines as Vin de France. He now runs the estate with his daughter Faustine and in turn passes on cuttings to other Corsican growers.
P.S. The third Collection wine is the Diplomate d’Empire 2019, a white made from Vermentino, Brustiano, Bianco Gentile, Genovese and Rossola Bianca. According to Vintage and Vine, it is named after a boyhood friend of Napoleon who served as a diplomat in Naples and fought at Waterloo. Approx. €69.
The wines in this letter
Jean-Charles created this cuvée when his daughter Faustine was born. The Vermentino from granitic sand is pressed directly, ferments in stainless steel and spends six months on its fine lees. In the glass it is fresh, with white flowers, a hint of aniseed and a mineral edge. With grilled fish and fennel.
29,50 €incl. VAT
Sciaccarello and Nielluccio from granitic sand are destemmed, spend about a month on their skins in a concrete tank and then mature for six months in stainless steel. It smells of red berries, myrtle and pepper. The importer Kermit Lynch calls the Faustine Rouge “vibrant, resinous”. With thyme-scented lamb chops or with Corsican sheep’s cheese.
27,50 €incl. VAT
Barbarossa is a pink-skinned variety that Abbatucci vinifies as a white wine from vines dating back to the early 1960s. The must ferments in a 1,200-litre cask from Stockinger and spends twelve months on its full lees. White peach, apricot and citrus zest are layered over toasty notes, peat and flint. With tuna and red peppers.
43,99 €incl. VAT
On the Monte Bianco parcel, Jean-Charles had the violinist Bertrand Cervera play among the vines as an experiment. The Sciaccarello from there ferments spontaneously in wood and then matures for twelve months in demi-muid. The nose shows strawberry, morello cherry and myrtle, and the tannins are fine and silky. With red mullet and tapenade or with aubergine caviar on crostini.
67,00 €incl. VAT
According to the British importer Vintage and Vine, the name commemorates an officer of the Revolution who became a brigadier general at 25 and fell in the same year. Vermentino, Rossola Brandinca, Riminese, Carcajolo Bianco, Biancone and Paga Debiti from Antoine’s hectare are pressed together and spend nine months on the full lees in demi-muid. First it smells of linden blossom, violet and narcissus, then of sea spray and seashells, and finally of wild mint and fennel. With herbed tagliatelle.
69,00 €incl. VAT
Seven varieties from Antoine’s hectare, planted between 1960 and 1962, go into this wine: Morescola, Morescono, Aleatico, Carcajolo Nero, Montanaccia, Sciaccarello and Nielluccio. Redcurrant, cassis and myrtle are to the fore, and the oak from twelve months in demi-muid is finely integrated. The estate advises opening it an hour beforehand and decanting it. With shoulder of lamb stuffed with candied clementines or with a bean and herb stew.
73,99 €incl. VAT