In an area famous for its reds, in a cellar famous for Merlot, here is an enchanting and unexpected white wine
Nico and Maria Teresa have the immediate understanding of those who spend their lives together. They met when they were very young, they got married and work every day side by side to carry on Gualdo del Re, the company founded by his grandparents. "It was once a mixed company," Nico tells me, but the vineyard has always been there. " The first bottlings date back to 1984, well before the territory of Suvereto aroused interest from a wine point of view. The spouses Rossi have been pioneers in many respects: it is their work, for example, the installation of the first experimental vineyard of Vermentino, in collaboration with the University of Pisa, and they had the idea of trying to see how the pinot nero on sandy soils, rich in clay and iron, surrounding the estate. "We called it wine without anxiety, because if you want to make a pinot noir from this part, it is the only attitude you can have" they joke, but not so much either. Gualdo del Re is especially famous for the merlot I ’Rennero, so much so that Barbara Tamburini, the oenologist who helps Nico and Maria Teresa, has earned the nickname of queen of merlot, after the red of Suvereto has been awarded for years the first prize as Best Merlot in Italy. The Bordeaux variety is also very popular with Nico, while Maria Teresa (like me) prefers the Cabraia, a cabernet franc with a very territorial balance of cabernet sauvignon which, not surprisingly, is the best choice for the robust local recipes based on wild boar.
However, in the production of Gualdo del Re, there is a very interesting "minor" wine. That will be when it is said pinot bianco South Tyrol immediately comes to mind; will be that there are not so many good white products along the Tuscan coast, but the White Eliseo 2018 deserves a taste, in combination with the fish dishes of the nearby Tyrrhenian Sea. His story, in reality, has been rather troubled. Originally, it was planted because it was mistaken for the much more famous chardonnay. At the sight of his small bunches, Poldina, Nico's grandmother exclaimed to the son a phrase that remained famous in the family: "You made so many mistakes but this beats them all". Nico also wanted to eliminate it, but before proceeding to the extirpation it occurred to him to let him taste it at Fulvio Pierangelini, the most talented local chef, who asked him how many bottles he made and bought the entire production for many harvests!
The Elysium is a wine that in the aromas draws very much the vine, with a beautiful ripe fruit and some notes of honey. When tasted, instead, it is surprising for its flavor, but "There is no wonder" said Nico "salt is a characteristic that is found in all the wines of our territory".
Why now: the heat is back, green light for raw fish and seafood recipes
As did: it ferments in steel tanks at a controlled temperature and then remains in aging for five months; it then refines in the bottle for at least another two months.
To combine with: aperitif finger food, light vegetable appetizers and fresh cheeses, spaghetti with clams, salmon tartare, baked fish.
Serve it at: 11 ° C
Price: 11 euros
gualdodelre.it
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