Vermentino (roll)

Also known as: Rolle (Provence), Vermentinu (Corsica), Pigato (Liguria), Favorita (Piedmont)

A grape variety that embraces the Mediterranean: Vermentino loves the coast, the salty air, the barren soils. Whether in Corsica, Sardinia or Provence – it brings that characteristic bitter undertone everywhere, which distinguishes its wines from arbitrary summer whites. Not perfume, but substance.

The name Rolle in Provence, Pigato in Liguria, Favorita in Piedmont – DNA analyses have confirmed what winemakers had long suspected: the same variety, different expressions. In Corsica, where Abbatucci and Clos Venturi cultivate it as Vermentinu, it achieves an intensity reminiscent of great white Burgundies. At Chêne Bleu on the Rhône, it shows a different facet: mineral, taut, with that typical herbal spice.