TENUTA COLPAOLA
Marche, Italy
It was love at first sight for proprietor Francesco Porcarello's grandfather Nazzareno as well. He initially visited Tenuta Colpaola, located in the village of Braccano in the shadow of Monte San Vicino, in the late 1960's and was immediately smitten with the place. At the time, it was owned by the aristocratic Boldrini family, who hailed from Matelica but lived in Milan and preferred to leave the vineyard management to someone else. A farmer by trade, he quickly moved to become the manager of the property: a position he would hold until passing it on to his son, Piero, Francesco's father, in the late 70's. However, it was not until the estate was formally put up for sale in 2004 that Francesco and his wife Stefania Peppoloni purchased it, finally and officially bringing it into the family nearly 40 years after Nazzareno's first visit.
The couple set about realizing their vision for Colpaola; despite Francesco's forebears' hard efforts in the vineyard, the grapes they yielded from their 10 hectares had always been sold to the local cooperative. They slowly began cutting back these quantities in 2007, experimenting with making their own wine. In 2013, Francesco and Stefania vinified their first estate bottling, and the Colpaola label was born. In 2015, they completed organic certification.
Francesco and Stefania's Verdicchio flawlessly embodies the essence of Matelica, effortlessly conveying what separates their appellation from the maritime stylings of Castelli di Jesi. As opposed to Jesi's pastoral countryside, Matelica is well inland and landlocked, a valley in the Apennine Mountains unique in its north-to-south orientation which shields it from any Adriatic influence. Where the cast majority of Castelli di Jesi tops out at around 260m of altitude, Matelica's 220 hectares of land under vine averages about 400m. Colpaola's vineyards, planted on calcareous clay, tower higher still at 650m above sea level. Their wine seems to mimic their vineyards' verticality: sharp and focused, feisty and snappy with a thrum of vibrant acidity and taut mineral backbone.
The neighbors always thought the Porcarello family crazy for planting so high - it is harder to farm, and the risks that come with winter occur more suddenly up the mountain. With climate change, however, that tune has changed, and more producers are looking for plots of what limited land there is at higher elevations.
Verdicchio translates to "little green one," and the grapes are precisely that. The verdant green color of the berries is reflected in the wine's flavor, but only if the grapes are handled gently: removed from their skins, seeds, and stems so only the bright pulp is crushed for juice - the "flower must" (a concept not unlike the use of the 'hearts' and discarding of "heads" and "tails" in distillation). Historically, Colpaola harvests in the second week of October, late compared with the producers lower in the valley, but it has always allowed for full phenolic ripeness and an unparalleled suppleness of fruit. Here again, changes in climate have impacted the process: they now tend to pick earlier, even in late September, so as not to overripen.
Wines