Colle Stefano`s Verdicchio di Matelica is back! The 2009 Verdicchio is pale gold with green hints. The nose is very expressive, floral - white flowers, acacia - and honeyed fruits. The palate is vividly fresh, pear drops, lime, grapefruit and more honey. Dangerously moreish...
Colle Stefano is situated in a hilly belt in the hinterland of the Marches, 420 m above sea-level, in the Verdicchio di Matelica DOC zone. This narrow tableland which stretches from the south to the north is watered by the Esino river and bounded on the east and west by the mountain range of the Appennini Umbro-Marchigiani (1479 m above sea level).
Unaffected by the mitigating influence of the Adriatic Sea, the region is notable for its cool, dry microclimate with high temperature differentials which is ideal for the propagation of Verdicchio di Matelica, an indigenous species of vine that has grown here for many centuries and here ripens late to be harvested from the second half of October onwards.
Fabio Marchionni took over the family vineyards from his father a few years ago, having just graduated from
the new enology school in Ancona and done his apprenticeship in Germany. He keeps yields extremely low, less than
forty hectolitres per hectare, and makes wine with painstaking care.
This is another estate where sustainable practices allow the vine to flourish. Polyphytous grass meadow has a positive
influence on the fertility of the soil because it increases organic matter (steady humus) and thus the number of
nutritional elements within the soil. On the other hand, the presence of different herb species with progressive
flowering is essential to attract a large number of insects, amongst which there are the natural antagonists of the most
common harmful insects (useful insects of prey as it were).
The grapes are gathered manually in the vineyards which are close to the cellar and put in small boxes (30 kg); they
are subsequently processed whole by using a soft press. The must is then left to ferment at a low temperature in small
stainless steel tanks (10 to 20 hl), where it reaches physical-chemical stability without any addition of clarifying agents
(spontaneous clarification). Bottling is in May the following year; the bottles are placed in a horizontal position in a
cave carved in sandstone rock. They are finally sold only after a variable period of ageing.
“This extraordinary white wine scours every taste bud on the tongue with electrifying acidity. How refreshing to taste a wine unmellowed by malo. Fabio’s Verdicchio is a pale yellow wine with greenish tones and a delicate scent of country herbs and apple; its taste, whose structure is not intrusive, has a fresh lime trace which makes this wine particularly fragrant, and the kind of pervasive acidity previously mentioned will allow your tongue to pass through the eye of the needle and enter the kingdom of oysters with an appetite for destruction.” Douglas Wregg
Gambero Rosso “Tre Bicchieri” Winner 2008 and 2009.
" Readers looking for a tasty Verdicchio that won’t break the bank should consider this Verdicchio di Matelica from Colle Stefano. This bright, high-toned white reveals well-defined aromatics and plenty of crisp, zesty fruit. The wine is best enjoyed while it remains fresh and vibrant" Wine Advocate
