| The other Tuscany: a quick last call. |
Greetings!
Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico
Superiore San Nicoḷ Brunori 2010
Here's a short read I might not have sent after such a busy weekend (thank you everyone who made my friend Bruno Lafon of Domaine Magellan feel so welcome). But I've held this thought since last Thursday, when Sue's daily text message reminded once again that I live a charmed life. She was pan-roasting a filet of fresh cod in olive oil, with onions, shitakes, and cherry tomatoes. And separately, she was oven-roasting some fresh asparagus, and had already prepared a little couscous. Which made me think of the spring menu at "La Moretta" in Ancona.
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So the choice of the perfect wine was easy: I brought home a bottle of this terrific white wine from my favorite producer in Le Marche (which, in some ways, is the un-Tuscany: barely noticed by foreign tourists, with a cuisine that is even more varied, and wines that are even more adaptable). Among the finest of them all is this full-bodied, honeycomb-and-almond-scented, single-vineyard Verdicchio, which, in my opinion, is one of the greatest dry white wines of Italy.
And if there were a better wine to accompany dinner at home last Thursday, I can't imagine what it tastes like.
So I shouldn't have been surprised when I checked the inventory of the 2010 on Friday, to learn that this brilliant vintage is almost completely sold out. Naturally, I bought a case - to drink over the next few years, like the case of the 1997 that I bought in 1999, when Giorgio Brunori told me how well San Nicoḷ developed over time in a good cellar (we drank a beautiful thirteen-year-old bottle last spring).
I thought you might like to know that the last forty-four cases are available this morning at Moore Brothers New Jersey. But there is no more in Italy.
$15 per bottle on paid orders received before May 22 *
*Regular price $17 per bottle. No further discounts apply.
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Famiglia Brunori:
Generations of Brunoris have grown grapes in the province of Ancona, but the first estate-bottled wines were made in 1956, when Mario Brunori established a winery in the rural Contrada San Nicoḷ. At the same time he opened a small wine shop in the nearby town of Jesi. Today Mario's son Giorgio heads the family. Giorgio's daughter Cristina manages the office, and his enologist son Carlo is in charge of the winery. In 2010, the Brunoris made just 900 cases of "San Nicoḷ," from selected Verdicchio grown in the heart of the Castelli di Jesi zone.
This Wine:
In the glass, the wine has a medium deep, saturated green-gold color. Fresh hay, dried honeycomb, almonds, and citrus emerge in the nose. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied and sapid, with plenty of dry extract, deep saline minerality, and bright citric acidity. The layered sweet core of dried honey, lemon zest, butter, and almonds is seasoned with delicate bitterness, and the long elegant finish is punctuated with mineral grip. This is a perfect wine for Mediterranean seafood, including marine fish, shellfish, and crustaceans. Drink Now - 2020.
As always at Moore Brothers, this wonderful Verdicchio was "SHIPPED AT 56º," so last Thursday at home in Philadelphia it was as fresh and compelling as it is in Jesi, at the Brunori enotoca in Viale della Vittoria, 103.
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I invite you to take advantage of this special offer, and thank you for your continued support of the extraordinary people who grow fine, traditional artisan wine. Greg Moore
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