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WTN: Domaine Maestracci Corse Calvi red and white

PostPosted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 11:43 pm
by Hoke
The Domaine Maestracci ‘E Prove’ 2010 white is a fresh, acid-driven delight, brimming with limey citrus notes tingling the lips, apple and pear fruits in tangy abundance expanding in the mouth, and a long, leisurely finish that lasts until the next sip begins. This is Vermentinu, the primary white grape of Corsica, known as Vermentino in nearby Italy and Rolle in the south of France. It’s a grape that deserves much more prominence and share of mouth than it gets, and the Maestracci is a perfect example of why it excels in Corsica.

The Domaine Maestracci E Prove 2008 red is equally well done. It is an engaging blend of 35% Niellucciu (the Corsican name for Sangiovese, that lovely and prolific grape of Italy), 35% Grenache, the “French” grape that actually originated in Spain, the local variety Sciacarellu (15%), and Syrah (15%.) The wine is aged in stainless steel for one year, then in large foudres (wood barrels) for another year, and finally cellar-aged in bottle for at least six months before release.

This is complex and intriguing, stylistically somewhere between a hearty southern Rhone and a Tuscan Sangiovese blend---which I suppose is precisely what it is, and what Corsica excels in. Lush with black fruit with a delicious, beguiling tarry, earthy tang, structured with minerality, acidity and just enough tannin, this is Mediterranean food wine at its best.

Domaine Maestracci wines are imported by Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants.

For full article: http://www.examiner.com/article/the-wines-of-corsica-domaine-maestracci-e-prove-corse-calvi?cid=db_articles

Re: WTN: Domaine Maestracci Corse Calvi red and white

PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2012 12:41 pm
by SteveEdmunds
Thanks, Hoke, for the info on the red; I'd never seen nor heard of the Grenache and Syrah in that wine. I drink a fair amount of the white; the '11 is really exceptional.

Re: WTN: Domaine Maestracci Corse Calvi red and white

PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2012 12:54 pm
by Hoke
Ha! Thought of you while drinking these wines, Steve. The Vermentinu is gorgeous stuff. Think you'd like the red. I imagine the heavily granitic soil is what adds the mineralic touch, and there's nice acidic edge from the sangio. Nice combo of Rhone and Tuscany, without being either.

Re: WTN: Domaine Maestracci Corse Calvi red and white

PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2012 1:24 pm
by Brian K Miller
Hmmmm. Maybe a trip to kermit Lynch this weekend is warranted!

Re: WTN: Domaine Maestracci Corse Calvi red and white

PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2012 1:33 pm
by Hoke
Brian K Miller wrote:Hmmmm. Maybe a trip to kermit Lynch this weekend is warranted!


Well, then, maximize the trip and pick up a bottle of Ste. Magdelaine Cassis. I highly recco that too; it's a wonderful white wine from Provence, right next to Bandol (well, close on a map, distinct in every other way). :)

Re: WTN: Domaine Maestracci Corse Calvi red and white

PostPosted: Thu Dec 06, 2012 6:13 am
by Tim York
Thanks for these TNs, Hoke. They remind me that Corsica is a bad gap in my French? wine culture, which I should remedy. And I've never visited Corsica. Everyone who has been there says it is a very beautiful island. Pity that the Corsicans spend so much energy killing each other :( .

Re: WTN: Domaine Maestracci Corse Calvi red and white

PostPosted: Fri Dec 07, 2012 9:10 am
by Brian Gilp
Hoke, have you tried the Clos Reginu red and if so how does it compare to the E Prove?

Re: WTN: Domaine Maestracci Corse Calvi red and white

PostPosted: Fri Dec 07, 2012 12:41 pm
by Hoke
Brian Gilp wrote:Hoke, have you tried the Clos Reginu red and if so how does it compare to the E Prove?


Would like to, obviously.

The Vermentinu has replaced Argiolas Costamolino as a go-to Vermentino; great stuff!