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2017 Muscat du Cap Corse
Antoine ArenaYou won’t confuse this stunning dessert wine with Muscat from Alsace, Beaumes-de-Venise, or anywhere else: its ravishing perfume of miel du maquis, wildflowers, and resinous herbs could come only from Corsica. We always keep a few vintages stocked in the Lynch cellar, since they age well and are a great way to start or end any meal. My favorite pairing is a bowl of delicate fresh ricotta—the closest we can get to Corsica’s brocciu—drizzled with raw honey.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2017 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Muscat à Petit Grains |
Appellation: | Muscat du Cap Corse |
Country: | France |
Region: | Corsica |
Producer: | Antoine Arena |
Winemaker: | Antoine Arena |
Vineyard: | Planted in 1982, 1992, 1995, 1 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone |
Farming: | Organic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 16% |
More from this Producer or Region
2022 Corse Calvi Blanc “E Prove”
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2019 Vin de France Rouge “Costa Nera”
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Just when I think I’ve seen it all, this wine comes along and surprises me! It’s not a typical rosé, nor is it a typical light red wine. Instead, it occupies a wonderful space between the two!
2021 Corse Figari Blanc “Amphora”
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It has a purity and seamlessness—no angles or edges—and a feeling of weightlessness despite its broad, full-bodied, golden flesh.
2016 Muscat du Cap Corse
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Ravishing perfume of miel du maquis, wildflowers, and resinous herbs.
2018 Île de Beauté Rouge “O Bà”
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2019 Vin de France Blanc “B.G.”
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A beautiful example of Biancu Gentile, an heirloom white grape revived from near-extinction by Arena in the 1990s.
About The Producer
Antoine Arena
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.
More from Corsica or France
2022 Île de Beauté Rosé
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2020 Vin de France Blanc “Hauts de Carco”
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2022 Corse Calvi Blanc “E Prove”
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2019 Patrimonio Rouge
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2019 Vin de France Blanc “B.G.”
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2016 Muscat du Cap Corse
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2021 Vin de France Blanc “B.G.”
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2020 Vin de France Blanc “Hauts de Carco”
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2022 Corse Calvi Blanc “E Prove”
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2019 Patrimonio Rouge
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2019 Vin de France Blanc “B.G.”
Antoine-Marie Arena France | Corsica
2020 Patrimonio Rouge “Cuvée Sarah”
Domaine Giacometti France | Corsica
2016 Muscat du Cap Corse
Antoine Arena France | Corsica
2021 Vin de France Blanc “B.G.”
Antoine-Marie Arena France | Corsica
2020 Patrimonio Rouge “Cru Des Agriate”
Domaine Giacometti France | Corsica
2022 Île de Beauté Rosé “E Croce”
Yves Leccia France | Corsica
2016 Costa Nera
Clos Canarelli France | Corsica
2022 Île de Beauté Blanc
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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