Wines of Corsica

Rosé :  Clos Canarelli 2016 – Rating:  9.0 out of 10.0

Sciaccarello:  Comte Abbatucci Monte Bianco 2015 – Rating:  9.5

Every year for the past 9 years we have been guests of our very generous (and long-time) friends on trips to places found on most “before I die” lists:  Provence, Lake Como, Burgundy, the Amalfi Coast to name a few. Most of these trips have been the subjects of our blog posts.  This year’s trip may not be on your bucket list but it should be:  a sailing cruise of Southern Corsica and Northern Sardinia.

The trip began with a flight to the west coast town of Ajaccio, Napoleon’s birthplace and the capital of Corsica. Our arrival Friday night afforded us the opportunity to cruise the farmers’ market Saturday morning in the old-town square, where we stocked up on olives and wild boar sausage.  One can never have enough.

At noon we met the 4-member crew of the sailing yacht, Mrs. Marietta 3.  She’s a sleek, modern 30 meter sloop with four en-suite staterooms – perfect for the 4 couples on this trip.

The rugged, southern Corsican coast served up several opportunities for lunch and overnight anchorages, but none more spectacular than the town of Bonifacio.  Built atop a limestone bluff about 230’ above the sea, the old town (once a 9^th century citadel) overlooks the harbor and Mediterranean.  Big drama.

 

While many wines from mainland France are available in Corsica, we sought to sample the wines made on the island.  Did we mention that this crowd likes Rosé?  It’s a lunch tradition that started on our trip 2 years ago to Provence, the motherland of pink wine.  Corsican wine makers, with French oenological training and subsidies from Paris and Brussels, have come a long way from the bulk wine plonk they produced in the 1970’s. An excellent example of this is the Rosé produced by Clos Canarelli 2016 ($40) from three grapes:  Sciacarello, Sangiovese (the Corsicans call it Niellucio) and Grenache.

 

The wine was lively, spicy and refreshingly mineral. A delightful alternative to the Cinsault-dominant Rosés of Aix-en-Provence or the Mouvedre blends of Bandol. And a textbook example of the progress made in Corsica with (mostly) native grapes.

Another excellent example of the quality of the Corsican wines was the Comte Abbatucci Monte Bianco 2015 ($94). The wine is 100% Sciacarello grown in one of the oldest wine regions on the granitic coast, southwest of Ajaccio. One might expect this red wine to be heavy due the hot Corsican climate. However, the marine air and the higher elevation vineyards make for a wine akin to a Pinot Noir-Gamay blend:  mid-weight with black cherry on the nose and red fruits (currant) on the palate. A beautiful balance of lively fruit, soft tannins and medium-plus acidity for pairing with poultry and full-flavored seafood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The New York Times published an article on Corsican wines (June 4, 2015) that provides more history and profiles several producers . . . if you are so inclined. And while finding these wines in your local wine store may be near-impossible, you may see them on wine lists in higher-end restaurants.  We encourage you to seek them out, for they deserve more attention and notoriety.

We spent the night in the Bonifacio harbor after a lovely dinner in an old-town restaurant called Stella d’Oro.  The next morning we sailed to Sardinia – the subject of our next blog post.