New York City's Some Good Wine is a retailer with a robust offering of off-the-beaten-path wines and is especially deep in Corsican wines. After going in for a second case of their 2018 Etienne Suzzoni Clos Culombu Blanc (produced in the Corse-Calvi region of Corsica), I thought the region, estate, and wine were deserving of a deeper dive.
Corsica
Corsica has been described as "a mountain planted in the middle of the Mediterranean ... dotted with heavenly beaches and picturesque villages surrounding a central massif. A French territory since 1768, Corsica nevertheless proudly retains its Italian charm and influences ..." (opimian.com).
As illustrated in the map below, Corsica has four primary AOCs (Vin de Corsi, Ajaccio, Patrimonio, and Vins de Coteaux-du-Cap-Corse) and five subzones under Corsi AOC.
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| Corsican wine regions (Wikipedia) |
The island experiences hot summers and sunny autumns with little rain. Significant diurnal temperature shifts yield the cool evenings which are beneficial for freshness and acidity retention in grapes.
The northern part of the island is schistous and, thus, favorable to the Vermentinu variety. The south has limestone and clay soils and is heavily planted to the red variety Sciaccarella while the east has sandy granite soils which yield excellent white, red, and rosé wines.
Corse-Calvi
Corse-Calvi, the subregion home of Etienne Suzzoni, is hot, dry, and windy in the summertime (favorable for the cultivation of vines and olive trees and in the fight against fungal diseases) and mild and wet in winter. Spring snow-melts help to replenish the area's water table. The climate is modified by the protective shield of Mount Curto and the proximity of the sea which act in concert to reduce the risk of spring frosts and hail.
The region's monogranitic soil is comprised of crystalline metamorphic rock with high silica content and rich in potassium, magnesium, and manganese. The basement is a 350-million-year-old granitic platform whose gradual erosion has yielded sandy loam soils with contrasting textures and structures:
- Extremely sandy soils in the foothills
- Increasingly loamy -- sometimes even clayey -- soils in the plains.
Rounding out the mix is ancient alluvial clay-loam soils carried down from Montegrossu.
The Estate
The Suzzoni estate began with plantings of Niellucciu vines in 1973 by Paul, the eldest son, and his father in the communes of Lumiu and Montegrosso. The grapes from these vines were first vinified in 1976.
Etienne, the youngest son, took control of the estate in 1986 and, given his belief in the terroir and wines of the region, pursued an expansionist policy. Today the estate is comprised of 64 ha of vines, 12 ha of olive trees, and 30 ha of meadows and oak groves suitable for cattle grazing.
A total of 19 grape varieties are planted on the estate; 65% of the grapes grown are red varieties. The primary red varieties are Niellucciu (21%) and Sciaccarello (17%) with Vermentinu (31%) as the primary white. The vineyard is divided into 27 parcels planted at elevations ranging between 50 and 150 m.
The estate has always been farmed in an environmentally friendly manner and this was underscored by the 2013 organic certification (ECOCERT) and current adoption of biodynamic practices.
The Wine
The 2018 Clos Culombu Blanc is a 100% Vermentinu that was macerated on the skins in the press for between 6 and 8 hours prior to fermentation with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks. The wine was aged on the lees for 5 months.
When chilled, this wine has a pleasant, restrained nose of perfumed white fruit with hints of ginger, herbs, mint, and lychee. Bright acidity and juicy on the salivary glands. Lemon-lime with a coating on the palate and a decidedly bitter aftertaste. Screams for shellfish. Late-arriving salinity not as intense as is the case for Assyrtiko/Carricante/Timorasso.
As it warms up, the wine becomes more broad-based and open. Less elegant. Still citrus but less intense and more orange than lime. Easy drinking wine that complements, and benefits from, close association with food. I use this wine as my daily drinker.
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