Seabreeze from Liguria, Just in
(photos by E&R alum Stephanie Sprinkle from a visit many years ago!)
LA FELCE — colli di luni
As June reaches its fullness and the solstice draws near, it is time to introduce the Ligurian wines of La Felce, one of our newest producers via our Almost Direct Imports program. In summer there is nothing better than a glass of vermentino — and there are three vermentino-based wines in this offer to quench that thirst!
These are Italian seaside wines made from organically farmed vineyards and with minimal intervention. La Felce has been a farm since the 1940s. Alongside the grapes grow fruit, saffron, and olive trees. Farmer and winemaker Andrea Marcesini’s goal is to produce beautiful, everyday table wines — therefore to produce the best possible quality in the vineyard.
The whites are saline and brimming with herbaceous verve. The white wines shine in the summertime, focused on vermentino, malvasia, and trebbiano. The red wines from La Felce are made from local grapes: massaretta, canaiolo, as well as sangiovese, barbera and cabernet sauvignon. We think the reds have a black-peppery prickle to them that is pleasurable in warmer weather but for anytime at all, and as Andrea would say, for everyday.
‘la felce’ means fern, named for the abundant ferns growing on the farm
La Felce is in the Colli di Luni appellation of Liguria (however, Andrea chooses to label his wines with the broader appellation Liguria di Levante). To visualize this landscape, picture the hills of Tuscany (with which it shares a border) draped with sea air and dotted with scrubby Mediterranean herbs. Here the vines are tightly knit to the sandy, sedimentary foothills leading up to the mountains of Ortonovo and Casano. This pocket of land is close to the sea like the Cinque Terre, though set a few kilometers back within a natural corridor. Funneled by this topography, the cooling sea winds narrow and gather strength as they ventilate through the vines.
Winemaker Andrea Marcesini says it takes love to work in this area. The vineyards are steep and far between, and the quantity of grapes produced is always very small. Although it’s a challenge to work here the memory of the wines on the table of his childhood motivates him. As part of his desire to keep the tradition of winemaking pushing the future ahead, Andrea has started a social agriculture project where he helps individuals experiencing distress work through recovery, therapy and job placement programs at the farm. Wine is food, and it can nurture the future as well as the everyday.
THE BOTTLES
La Felce Felcebianco 2022
Everyday wine at a price that still feels everyday. The real stuff, Ligurian originals Vermentino, Trebbiano, and Malvasia setting the stage for a chewy palate drenched in lemon, tarragon, and salt. 48 hours of skin contact for just a little texture. $22.00
A totally versatile red made from 10 grapes includ- ing Sangiovese, Massaretta, Canaiolo, Barbera, Cabernet and Merlot. Fermented on the skins for 5 days in concrete, then aged in stainless steel. Kind of the ideal Italian red, like the idea of Chianti, only way cheaper than most Chianti these days! $22.00
La Felce in Origine 400 Liguria Di Levante Bianco 2022
"in Origine 400” is the wine that most reflects Andrea’s memory of the old wines of his home, made by his grandfather. It is made with fruit from hundred-year old vermentino and trebbiano vines and fermented on the skins in concrete tanks for 20 days. The result is a pale marigold-colored wine, with aromas of thyme and crispy foccacia — it’s deeply savory and wants to be drank alongside grilled prawns.$36.00
La Felce Monti dei Frati Liguria Di Levante Bianco 2022
Monte dei Frati is a 2.5 hectare parcel of higher elevation vines of Vermentino on sandstone bedrock. Succulent steeped peach blossom tea — the wine has breadth as well as a very focused finish from a bit of maceration.Enjoy cold outside in the garden with a great book and dappled sunlight and be transported to the lilting breezes and deep history of Liguria! $28.50
La Felce Reconteso Liguria Di Levante Rosso 2022
Reconteso is from a single vineyard and is based on the very rare grape massaretto, with just a touch of alicante bouschet. There are only about 30 hectares of massaretto in Italy — it is famously finicky to grow but in Andrea’s hands it produces a lighter-bodied, deeply peppery wine with flashes of raspberry and basil. The wine is fermented in concrete and aged in stainless steel so there is zero influence from oak. A fine thing to drink with black olive anything. $31.00