Tordiruta Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi

Vineyard

Growing area: the Marche, province of Ancona.

Location: commune of Castelplanio, in the Piagge Novali area.

Age: 7-35 years.

Soils: very deep and rocky, predominantly Plio-Pleistocene and Miocene sands and clays, with some limestone.

Aspect and elevation: south-east, south-west and north-west at 300-350 m.

Varieties and growing practices

Grapes: 100% Verdicchio.

Training system: arched cane and double guyot.

Vineyard density: 1700-3500 vines per hectare.

Yield: 7 t. of grapes/ha, utilising pruning to reduce the bud load per vine, in order to concentrate components and quality in fewer clusters per vine.

Vinification

Harvest: after ripening late, the clusters are picked by hand and the best quality clusters are placed to dry on reed mats for 3 months, where they undergo the “noble rot” process.

Vinification: the must ferments about a month in oak barriques.

Maturation: the wine ages for 12 months in barriques, then a further year in the bottle.

Tasting notes

Appearance: a dense, brilliant gold yellow.

Bouquet: a superbly aromatic bouquet of remarkable intensity and length. Predominant essences are of candied citrus, tropical fruit and more mature, evolved floral and spice impressions.

Palate: the entrance is majestic. The palate is richly savoury, exhibiting impressions of candied, subtly caramelised fruit and spice, the gift of careful cask-ageing, which enriches the influence of the noble rot. Magisterial smoothness, perfect balance and exceptional harmony of all of its components.

Alcohol

13,00% vol.

Cellaring

The quintessential exemplar of Italian winemaking will have no problem whatsoever in ageing a considerable period. Store it carefully in your cellar and discover, even a decade later, the impressive growth in richness of this extraordinary, renowned wine.

Serving suggestions

Do not waste this wine on your usual run of sweets: the breed of Tordiruta deserves far better. It is made rather for blue cheeses (Gorgonzola, Roqueford, Blu Stilton, Fossa di Talamello), served perhaps with a fresh, ripe Williams, Abate or Decane pear or, even finer, stewed in a little of the same wine, some water, a little sugar, and just a touch of chestnut honey; with the Marche’s fig lonzino, or with Mantua’s fruit mostarda. Tordiruta with fat goose liver, duck breast or Canard à l’orange represents a gastronomical apogee.

Serving temperature

14° C.