Today’s wine is the first we’ve offered from Domaine U Stiliccionu, whose limited wines arrived to us with much accompanying fanfare: Eric Asimov of
The New York Times, and the New York wine scene as a whole, can’t stop name-dropping this buzzed-about, one-man-show estate.
As a devout fan of wines from Corsica’s Ajaccio region (where the legendary Comte Abbatucci makes one of my all-time-favorite rosés, “Cuvée Faustine”), I was destined to like today’s 2015, but even the non-biased taster would agree that “Antica” is exceptional. Crafted from biodynamically farmed Sciaccarello (more on this below), this pure and energetic red just screams “place.” By design, it transports you to the wind-swept, scrub-covered island it comes from. Each sip makes you want to learn more, and as you do your enjoyment of it is only heightened. What else can I say? In a relatively short period of time, young vigneron Sébastien Poly has made his small domaine a reference point in this remote, tradition-bound region. It’s a profoundly impressive, peculiarly collectible wine that still remains in the ‘insider’ circle—but the world is starting to figuring it out. Don’t be left in the dust!
The coastal town of Ajaccio lends its name to the wine appellation that follows the rugged Corsican coast both to its north and south. Traversed by rivers such as the Gravone and Prunelli, its vineyards occupy steep, Mediterranean-facing slopes at some of the highest elevations on the island. These altitudes, along with a confluence of Mediterranean winds (the mistral from the north, the scirocco from the south) moderate the climate in an area that sees an exceptional 2,700+ hours of sunshine a year. It is an incredibly scenic and wild place that is also an ideal terroir for wine growing, with its own trio of native varieties rooted in granitic soils—the white Vermentino (a.k.a Vermentinu, or Rolle) and the reds Sciaccarello (a.k.a. Mammolo) and Nielluccio (likely related to Sangiovese).
There’s still disagreement over whether Sciaccarello/Mammolo migrated to Italy’s Tuscany region from Corsica or the other way around. But regardless, the grape is pretty much Corsica’s at this point—its use in Tuscany has been almost completely relegated to supporting-cast status in Chiantis and other blends. With its satisfyingly deep color and dark-fruited, violet-scented aroma, Mammolo makes a great blending partner for the leaner, more red-fruited Sangiovese, but really, the ultimate expression of this variety is Corsican—and if this is your first experience with Sciaccarello (also spelled Sciaccarellu), you’ve picked a great one to start with.
“U Stiliccionu” is named for the tiny hamlet south of Ajaccio where the domaine is headquartered, in a stone house once occupied by winemaker Sébastien Poly’s grandparents (Abbatucci is on the same country road a little further inland). Only in his mid-thirties, Poly took over the family vineyards from his grandfather in 2005 and painstakingly converted their seven hectares to biodynamic farming (an interesting factoid: U Stiliccionu apparently means “a belt of thorns like Christ's crown” in Corsican dialect). Poly is proud of the fact that his domaine is one of just five Certified Biodynamic estates on Corsica, and his approach in the cellar is similarly natural and precise; there is no sulfur added during his fermentations and only a trace amount added at bottling, and yet the wine is clean and fault-free—a testament to obsessive work in the winery.
Fruit for the 2015 “Antica” (100% Sciaccarello/u) was completely de-stemmed and subjected to a very gentle extraction during fermentation on native yeasts. It aged 24 months in large, used French oak barrels, and while there’s an appealing hint of herb-tinged rusticity in the wine, what will strike you most about it is its elegance. Much as I love dark, rough-and-ready Mediterranean reds, this one is softly contoured and lifted, with smooth, silky tannins and loads of freshness. In the glass, it’s a deep ruby with hints of magenta and pink, with aromas and flavors of black raspberry, wild strawberry, plum, black pepper, violets, bay leaf, and leather. It is medium-bodied and refreshing in the
vin de soif (“wine for thirst”) mode and ready to drink now and over the next few years. Decant it about 30 minutes before serving in Burgundy stems at around 60 degrees (or even a touch cooler) with some pork or lamb seasoned with lots of Mediterranean herbs. If you were being ambitious, you’d slow-roast a suckling pig Corsican/Sardinian-style, but some lamb burgers would do nicely as well. Check out the attached recipe (perhaps skip the spicy mayo) and invite some friends to share this unique and delicious red. Enjoy!
