Wine: Bucci: Rosso Piceno “Pongelli” DOC

Marche

A gentle hilly region bordered on the west by the Apennines and to the east by the Adriatic, the Marche is well known for its olives, olive oils, cheeses, and seafood-especially seafood dishes like Brodetto (Fish Soup). The climate is mild, sunny, with sea breezes and dry conditions that are ideal for viticulture. The classic wine of the region is made from the native grape Verdicchio known for its lemon acidity and hints of almond. It is not certain when wine production was established, although it can easily be traced back to the Romans and Greeks. Long associated with being an inexpensive wine found in a green amphora bottle with a scroll around the neck, the natural advantages of the area have often promoted mass production. The green fish bottle became the perfect accompaniment to the straw-flasked wines of Chianti and defined a generation of buyers around the world. (The fish bottle thought to have been inspired by similarly shaped containers used by Greek sailors.)
Fortunately, recent improvements in quality by several small producers have elevated Verdicchio into one of Italy’s premier white wines-particularly those from the DOC zones of Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi and Verdicchio di Matelica. Notable for drinking in their youth, many Verdicchios are also worthy of aging much like Burgundy. And even better, they are wonderful bargains in comparison to other more famous wines of the same caliber. It should be noted that Verdicchio has been genetically linked to the Trebbiano of Lugana in Lombardy and Soave in Veneto—wines which have also seen marked improvement in quality. It seems no coincidence that all have the capacity for producing superlative wines. While much of the Marche production is devoted to white wine in the northern area of the region-62% of total production is white-there has been a significant development with the red wines of Rosso Conero in the north and Rosso Piceno in the south. Both wines traditionally use a blend of Montepulciano and Sangiovese that many small producers have shown can achieve superb quality. Styles can vary from elegant, easy going to extracted, structured and complex with the amount of Montepulciano being the decisive factor. These are wines that have just begun to achieve recognition outside of Italy and will easily win over fans for their
range of superb value.

Bucci

The Buccis have owned land and made wine in the Castelli di Jesi area as far back as the 1700s, originating in one of the “castles” themselves: Montecarotto. Their impressive heritage might have daunted a lesser man than Ampelio Bucci. Ampelio, on the other hand – flanked by star winemaker Giorgio Grai – has succeeded in maintaining the best of tradition, while revolutionizing quite a few of Italy’s traditional winemaking tenets – most notably, the old assumption that whites should be lighter, cooler, shorter-lived and reds steer clear of mellowness, liveliness (and fish).
One of the key factors in Bucci excellence is the top-notch vineyard management. There are five Verdicchio vineyards with distinct elevations and exposures to the sunlight, endowing the blend with greater complexity and unique consistency from vintage to vintage. A sixth vineyard, San Fortunato, is split into the two red grapes.
The property is extremely diversified, covering a total of 988 acres and comprising centuries-old olive groves as well as plantations of sugar beet, corn, wheat, sunflowers etc. Total acreage under vine is 64, 52 acres of which Verdicchio, all in the Classico DOC, and 12 acres of Montepulciano and Sangiovese yielding the Rosso Piceno DOC. Soil is mainly clayey/calcareous (at least 30%), and crops are kept very limited, half the permissible crop yields as established by DOC regulations. The vines are very old (an average of 35 years), and cultivation (both for Bucci vineyards and olive groves) is entirely organic, officially certified from the 2002 crop.
Equipment is split into stainless steel and Slavonian and Allier oak barrels going from 25/40 hl. in capacity (for the Rosso Piceno) to 40/75 hl. for the whites. These are not new, so as to fine-tune and micro-oxygenate the wine without yielding harsh tannins or wood aromas. The distinct Verdicchio vineyards are vinified separately, then blended before bottling, with the blend carefully orchestrated from vintage to vintage. Bucci Verdicchio comes from 100% select vines chosen among the best of Ampelio’s private nursery. The resulting wine is so complex and structured that bottling necessarily occurs very late (June to August for the regular), ensuring great natural stability and longevity.
Vinification and élevage take place in the underground winery, whose naturally cool temperatures make refrigeration mostly unnecessary: yet another example of Bucci’s signature naturalness.

A top-of-the-line Rosso Piceno, from a blend of old-vine Montepulciano and Sangiovese (70% + 30%), issued solely in the finest vintages and aged 1 year in oak (25-hl. and 40-hl. barrels), 6 months in bottle.

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