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Bucci Verdicchio Classico Castelli di Jesi Riserva
Bucci Verdicchio Classico Castelli di Jesi Riserva is regarded as one of Italy’s premier white wines and one of the only wines from Le Marche to continually receive the prestigious Tre Bicchiere award from Gambero Rosso year after year. Made from the increasingly fashionable Verdicchio grape this wine is Le Marche’s sweetheart and the optimum expression of the varietal. No producer gives better service to Verdicchio, a grape getting more and more attention recently due to its great acidity and nutty character and no producer is better at giving the grape life as this white is capable of becoming rich and elegant with ageing capabilities of 6-10 years in great vintages.
Having never covered a wine from Le Marche on the blog I thought it about high time. Le Marche is not generally known for its wine. This is an area held in a rather low regard by many Italians as being less rich in culture, cuisine and wine but outside of Italy the Ex-pats of Europe and the USA and pouring forth into the region attracted by low house prices, a coast and the jewel in Le Marche’s crown, Urbino, a world heritage site, a glorious walled hilltop town rivalling any in Tuscany and Umbria with a fascinating history. Wiki it! Fascinated?
In fact, I myself went house hunting in Le Marche, travelling up and down the coast and falling in love with another fantastic hilltop town, Macerata. So I have been raring to taste the 2005 effort from Villa Bucci having been, along with the rest of the world, so impressed by the 2004. However it is the 2001 vintage that scooped the Italian White Wine of the Year award with Gambero Rosso and apparently is still alive and kicking, complex and long. If you’ve tried this wine leave a comment, please!
So who are these Villa Bucci sorts? Well, Villa Bucci is a long established producer in the Verdicchio DOC region close to the town of Corinaldo, a few miles inland from Senigalia. With 25 hectares, most of this Verdicchio, Ampelio Bucci employs rigorous grape selection with yields of 2.9 tons per acre and am ample 18 months in Slavonian oak for the vineyards masterpiece, the Riserva. Also producing a high quality standard label Verdicchio and an interesting Red, the “Rosso” is 70% Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and 30% Sangiovese.
This is my favorite Italian white. None of my friends have heard of it despite the awards. We must tell everyone about Bucci.
My Italian wine world is shrinking sadly. I’m finding great value in Argentina and Chile though.Sarah have you tried Pingus? Having read your reviews I think you will enjoy it.
Le Marche is a wonderful region and has some fabulous, little-known wine treasures as well. I do have to dispute that Marche is looked down on by other Italians, though. When we tell Italians from other regions that we live in Ascoli Piceno they immediately sing its praises and laud Le Marche in general as encapsulating all of Italy into one regions (mountains, sea, hills and culture). In fact, the only negative I've heard from one acquaintance was that Marchigiani are thrifty (they are!).
Definitely my favorite italian white well worth the $44 USD or $24 USD for the non-reserve. Sharing my last name with the makers is also a plus! Although any relation, if any, is very distant, and unknown to me. Hard to find in the US though, I have to special order from my local wine shop.
I am a specilaized wine merchant in Sacramento, California. I sell the 2001 Bucci Verdicchio Riserva – I kept a case for myself and open a bottle every year at Christmas to serve with fish. It is quite excellent and continues to impress me.
I have traveled to Ancona, Numana and Ascoli Piceno and I have to disagree with your comments about the region. It may not be Milano or Tuscany, but I found the food delicious, the women beautiful (if not a bit reserved) and the area interesting.
In any case, while a bit pricey, the Bucci Verdicchio is a wine I enjoy showing to my customers who are looking for something different.
Bucci Classico would be my all-time favorite white wine, had I never tasted the Villa Bucci Reserva. Both wines have a superior light flavor that pairs well with fish, seafood, pasta and vegetable dishes. My only complaint is that Bucci is difficult to obtain locally and I usually have to order it. It is, however always well worth the wait.