We always come down with a chronic case of wanderlust when a wine like Sant Armettu’s “Rosumarinu” Sciaccarellu crosses our desk. It hails from Sartène, in southwestern Corsica, not too far from Ajaccio, where one of our all-time favorites, Comte Abbatucci, plies its trade. Tasting this wine brought me straight to the Mediterranean with its lush, sunny fruit, its floral aromas, and its hint of salinity—transporting us far, far away from the suburban conference room in which it was poured.

Then we dug deeper into the story and setting behind this succulent, steel-aged red, and well, “wow” is really the best word for it. Perched in rugged hills just a few kilometers inland from the coastal town of Propriano, the vineyards of Sant Armettu were planted by Paul Seroin more than 40 years ago, but he was content to sell them to the local cooperative until his wine-merchant son, Gilles, decided to pursue the vigneron life in earnest. It is a pure expression of Sciaccarellu, one of Corsica’s signature red varieties, that had us thinking of everything from Provençal reds to Etna Rosso to ripe-vintage red Burgundy. One thing is for certain: It tastes much more expensive than it is, regardless of what you think it resembles.

With the azure-blue Gulf of Propriano as a backdrop, Paul and Gilles Seroin grow not just 40 hectares of wine grapes but olive trees and a host of other crops. They’ve converted the estate to organic farming and are introducing biodynamic practices as well, infusing their wines with a kind of raw, primal energy. Sartène is the name of a village south of Sant Armettu and is also used for the wine region that surrounds it. It is very hilly terrain, with soils of granite and clay and near-constant breezes helping to refresh the vines—whether it’s the mistral winds blowing in from the north or the scirocco up from the south. These currents help moderate the climate in an area that sees an exceptional 2,700+ hours of sunshine a year. 

If this happens to be your first Sciaccarellu experience, you couldn’t ask for a more perfect introduction. This was vinified and aged in stainless steel tanks, so it’s all about a pure chord of plush, bright fruit supported by a potpourri of flowers, herbs, and earth. Aromas of damp strawberry, elderberry, redcurrant, plum, violet, grilled herbs, cracked pepper, and lavender carry over to the medium-plus-bodied palate, which is juicy and smooth. The tannins are soft-shouldered and there is lots of tension keeping the wine lifted and energetic. Decant it 15 minutes before serving at 60-65 degrees in Burgundy stems with something soul (and belly) warming. This is a wine, and a pairing, you won’t soon forget!