2016 Antoine-Marie Arena - Patrimonio Rouge, Carco (750ml)

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Corsican wine has undergone a revolution in the last few decades, as growers shift away from mass production to smaller quantities of far higher quality wine. A handful of producers are crafting profound, intensely satisfying wines. The best show a raw, effortless beauty that seems synonymous with the island itself, allied with a unique complexity that registers on a primal level.

Antoine Arena is widely recognized as the godfather of this new generation of Corsican vignerons, a remarkable character responsible for some of the most renowned bottles on the island. When Antoine first cleared the Carco vineyard in 1987, he knew the limestone soils would render a unique terroir-driven wine of finesse and character.  He is now the envy of many a Corsican estate, as his soils were never touched by pesticides nor fertilizers, and he resisted the temptation which others succumbed to—that of uprooting traditional Corsican varieties to plant higher-yielding international grape varieties, when an influx of Corsican expats from Algeria in the 1960s drove this fashion.

This is Niellucciu from 30+ year old vines in a combination of chalk, clay, and limestone soils. Niellucciu is known as Sangiovese in Italy, but this wine is no Chianti. Hand harvested, fermented with native yeast in stainless steel tanks, and partially aged in neutral 350L barrels, partially aged in stainless steel, then blended. Earth and red fruit on the nose, followed by tart cherries and raspberries, spicy notes of white pepper, and mineral notes with a fresh, juicy finish.