100% Vermentino; steel fermented, aged in steel on fine lees for 3 months; fruit from controlled vineyards in the foothills of Luni, Castelnuovo Magra, and Sarzana. Price in the $25-$35 range. 12.5% Alc.
This Vermentino from Liguria isn’t an especially aromatic wine. It’s more about texture and movement. It opens briefly with generous ripe pear and citrus with a short spell of lees-derived creaminess rounding out the mid-palate. But then mineral discipline takes over. Fine-grained dry extract appears early, under the fruit, giving the wine an interesting textural component which becomes more apparent as the mid-palate fades into the finish, where bitter quinine and citrus add firmness.
The nose is clean and at first fruit-led. To the wine’s credit, there is little overt floral perfume. It stays composed and characteristically Italian rather than showy. A rosemary-inflected herbal note gives the fruit some Mediterranean contour, while crushed rock becomes more prominent with aeration and eventually becomes the wine’s most persistent aromatic marker.
But I keep coming back to mouthfeel. And attitude. Its attack is vertical and refreshing. The wine then broadens briefly before acidity and mineral intensity compress the shape and pull it into a narrower, more focused register. The motion is smooth but quick: fruit to creaminess, then stone and mineral.
As noted, the expressive polarity that organizes this wine is textural: slight creaminess against persistent mineral abrasion, or to translate that into attitude, a convivial welcome plays against ascetic coastal minimalism. But the finish is not stern. After the mineral/quinine phase, a crystalline spring-water note appears at terminus, a clean cooling gesture that keeps the wine inviting.
The verdict: chiseled but companionable, this Vermentino emphasizes line over flesh. The fruit keeps it from austerity; the mineral and phenolic grip keep it from mere prettiness. Refreshing, but not casual, it has enough tension and texture to make you pay attention. Best with seafood, fried anchovies, or anything involving olive oil and herbs. This region is in Liguria, so pesto would be my first choice.
Exploring the Philosophy of Food and Wine 