Description
Claudio Morelli, Bianchello del Metauro “Terrazze”
It took me until my early thirties and a lengthy stay in Italy, but I fell in love with seafood in the cities and towns dotting the Adriatic Coast: Trieste and Venice, of course, but also smaller beachside destinations like Rimini, Senigallia, Portonovo, and Pescara. Those last three are in the undiscovered gem of a region known as Le Marche, as is the producer of today’s wine, who makes one of the few Bianchello del Metauro wines you’ll ever see in the US.
Yes, we’re back to fishing around in Italy’s deep pool of unique indigenous grape varieties, and this one comes to us at the perfect time—as summer approaches and crisp, refreshing, food-friendly whites move to the top of everyone’s wish list. The Bianchello grape, also known as Biancame, is grown in just a few coastal provinces in Marche and Emilia-Romagna, and Claudio Morelli’s version comes from vineyards perched near the mouth of the Metauro River, in the town of Fano. I can’t help but fantasize about drinking a bottle (or two) there, as a waiter breaks open the salt crust on a perfectly roasted branzino and filets it right there in front of me, laying it gently on a plate devoid of any accompaniments other than some good local olive oil. I know this will happen again for me someday soon, but in the meantime, there will be plenty of opportunities to plug this vibrant, affordable gem into the program. “Coastal” white wine—whether that coast is the Adriatic, Ionian, or Mediterranean—is what Italy does best, and that’s exactly what I’m looking for right now.
The Morelli family farm goes back generations and traditionally produced not just wine grapes but olives and other fruits and vegetables. In the 1950s, the focus shifted almost exclusively to wine and olive oil, and today Claudio Morelli farms 22 hectares of vineyards and 400 olive trees. Bianchello/Biancame, which is thought to be a branch of Italy’s vast Trebbiano family, is Morelli’s main preoccupation, although he grows Sangiovese, Montepulciano, and several other red grapes as well. The soils in the area are a mix of hard volcanic tuff and sand, and the proximity of the vineyards to the Adriatic provides ample ventilation, allowing for extended hang time of the grapes. Morelli’s “La Vigna delle Terrazze” (“the terraced vineyards”) comes from his oldest Bianchello plots just outside Fano, which were planted in the 1970s.
Vine age notwithstanding, Bianchello is a delicately aromatic, high-acid variety that is never destined to be a tropical fruit bomb. Morelli looks to optimize freshness and aromatic complexity by macerating the de-stemmed grapes on their skins for a short period under a blanket of dry ice (cryo-maceration), after which the juice is separated from the skins and continues fermenting in stainless steel tanks. The effect of this cold maceration is to extract aromatic compounds and other phenolics from the skins while preventing oxidation, and by aging the wine only in steel, Morelli aims to highlight varietal and regional character above all else.
The result is a vivid, electric white wine with a slight salty tang, as is typical of coastal whites around the world. It shines a pale straw-gold in the glass, with silver and light green reflections, and the aromas are a perfumed jumble of green fruits and herbs. Smelling this wine is a little like being in the fruit and vegetable aisle in the supermarket when the little water-misters click on and leave a layer of “dew” on the leaves and skins. Aromas of green apple, melon, citrus peel, chopped herbs, a hint of pine, and a blast of sea spray carry over to the medium-bodied palate, which is full of live-wire acidity and a dusting of minerals. It is a drink-now white best served at 45 degrees in all-purpose stems with the freshest seafood you can find. Whole-grilled porgy, sea bass, or branzino (if you can get it) are three possible options (out of about a million), so get out there and get your fish on—just don’t be surprised if a bottle of Bianchello disappears during prep time. Stock up accordingly!
