Casalfarneto

Verdicchio 'Grancasale' 2014

91+

Bright straw-yellow. Intense aromas of almond, ripe yellow peach, aromatic herbs and candied citrus fruits on the nose. Rich, round and juicy, offering ripe yellow fruit flavors and a spicy note lifted by soft acidity. The finish is long and quite saline. The grapes are harvested about two weeks later than those for the Fontevecchia Verdicchio and are cryomacerated; this wine gains in freshness and fruitiness thanks to the cryomaceration but is also rounder and richer because of the use of late-harvested grapes. About 8-10 percent of the total wine ages in big barrels, which helps the late-harvested and cryomacerated components fuse together and give a more balanced wine.

Casalfarneto

Verdicchio 'Fontevecchia' 2023

91

Light, crisp, fresh and dry with notes of pink grapefruit, tangerine, celery salt and sage.

Casalfarneto

Verdicchio 'Fontevecchia' 2022

92

Verdicchio isn’t loved by everybody as much as it is by me, but I greatly value its freshness and green-fruit flavors and underlying minerality, especially from this (probably best) appellation of Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore in the Marche. Trying it with fresh seafood along the province’s coast would make you a lifelong believer, but it also travels well, and though clam pasta would be my first choice, this is a great summer solo-sipper and a fine partner for any shellfish dish or finfish with white flesh of almost any type. Zesty but not remotely sour, this offers excellent refreshment value but shows lovely fruit with underlying complexities that make this more than a mere quaffing wine.