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2013 Vin de France Blanc “BG”
Clos CanarelliBiancu Gentile, once widely grown and admired in Corsica, was later abandoned and left for dead. How could such a unique grape—found only on the island and famed for its unmatched aromatics—fall from such heights? It was a victim of rural exodus out of an economically and culturally battered Corsica, in an era when Corsican craft and tradition were frowned upon by the French government. Thankfully, in more recent years a new and younger generation set out to right a wrong, and went searching for remnants of the famed Biancu Gentile. At the time, it is estimated there was only a single acre left under vine, old and poorly tended at that. Little by little, piece by piece, good budwood was selected, propagated, grafted, and replanted. Soon six acres were under vine. Talk spread further among growers, and the plantings multiplied. Fast-forward a decade or so to today and the future of this grape is undeniable. It is the up-and-coming white Corsican grape, rapidly winning back the reputation it had earned so long ago. Canarelli gives his Biancu Gentile long aging in concrete eggs on its lees, to coax out the richer texture and summer flower notes—perfect for the Mediterranean table. It is a testament to the singularity and enormous potential of Biancu Gentile, saved from the brink of extinction.
—Chris Santini
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2013 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Biancu Gentile |
Appellation: | Corse Figari |
Country: | France |
Region: | Corsica |
Producer: | Clos Canarelli |
Winemaker: | Yves Canarelli |
Vineyard: | Planted in 2000, .5 ha |
Soil: | Granite |
Aging: | Fermented on lees in concrete eggs, lightly filtered to remove heavy lees |
Farming: | Biodynamic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 13% |
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About The Producer
Clos Canarelli
About The Region
Corsica
I first set foot on the island in 1980. I remember looking down from the airplane window seeing alpine forest and lakes and thinking, uh oh, I got on the wrong plane. Then suddenly I was looking down into the beautiful waters of the Mediterranean. Corsica is a small, impossibly tall island, the tail of the Alp chain rising out of the blue sea.—Kermit Lynch
Kermit’s first trip to the island proved fruitful, with his discovery of Clos Nicrosi’s Vermentino. More than thirty years later, the love affair with Corsica has only grown as we now import wines from ten domaines that cover the north, south, east, and west of what the French affectionately refer to as l’Île de Beauté.
Corsica is currently experiencing somewhat of a renaissance—interest has never been higher in the wines and much of this is due to growers focusing on indigenous and historical grapes found on the island. Niellucciu, Sciarcarellu, and Vermentinu are widely planted but it is now common to find bottlings of Biancu Gentile and Carcaghjolu Neru as well as blends with native varieties like Rossola Bianca, Minustellu, or Montaneccia.
As Kermit described above, Corsica has a strikingly mountainous landscape. The granite peaks top out above 9,000 feet. The terroir is predominantly granite with the exception of the Patrimonio appellation in the north, which has limestone, clay, and schist soils.The wines, much like their southern French counterparts make for great pairings with the local charcuterie, often made from Nustrale, the native wild boar, as well as Brocciu, the Corsican goats milk cheese that is best served within 48 hours of it being made.
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Where the newsletter started
Where the newsletter started
Every three or four months I would send my clients a cheaply made list of my inventory, but it began to dawn on me that business did not pick up afterwards. It occurred to me that my clientele might not know what Château Grillet is, either. One month in 1974 I had an especially esoteric collection of wines arriving, so I decided to put a short explanation about each wine into my price list, to try and let my clients know what to expect when they uncorked a bottle. The day after I mailed that brochure, people showed up at the shop, and that is how these little propaganda pieces for fine wine were born.—Kermit Lynch