Abbatucci 'Faustine' Rouge 2023
The Wine
70% Sciaccarello (Mammolo) and 30% Nielluccio (Sangiovese). Hand-picked and sorted in the vineyard and then again at the winery. The fruit is left un-crushed and delivered by gravity into a mix of concrete and wooden thermo-regulated tronconic vats (truncated cone-shaped). Natural-yeast fermented and kept on skins for several weeks with extraction achieved by alternate pump-overs and plunging. Matured in tank on fine lees for 6 months, then assembled in tank and matured for a further 2 months. Bottled with a light fining and filtration only when necessary.
Jean-Charles Abbatucci farms the rugged, windswept, granite slopes of southern Corsica, applying biodynamic and other experimental farming practices to Corsican grape varieties like Sciaccarellu, Barbarossa, and Carcajolu Neru. His Faustine rouge—named for his daughter—is probably the best introduction to his lineup of unique, world-class wines. It is made primarily from Sciaccarellu, a grape whose name in Corsican refers to the way the berries, when ripe, crunch under one’s teeth. You feel a similar sensation while sipping on the crushed, fermented result of those same berries: this vibrant, resinous rouge is reminiscent of succulent, freshly harvested red berries and pomegranate seeds. Its freshness and light hue belie its impressive structure and density, which largely come from Sciaccarellu’s counterpart in the blend, Niellucciu. Have you ever tasted another wine like this? Corsicans love goat meat, and Faustine would be a perfect match for Chris Lee’s goat chops. Tom Wolf KLWM
The Details
Variety - Sciaccarello (Mammolo), Nielluccio (Sangiovese)
Country - France
Region - Corsica
Extra - Cork
Year - 2023
Volume - 750ml
About the Wine Maker 
Domaine Comte Abbatucci extends over granite sandy slopes, located in the southern part of Corsica in the Taravo valley. Among the estate you will also find fruit trees, vegetables, olive trees and sheep which have all been farmed bio-dynamically since 2000.
The estate is one of the oldest vineyard plantations in Corsica and has been chosen to study and experiment the reproduction of ancient vine varieties. The estate grows a wide range of indigenous varieties including Niellucio and Sciacarello as well as the more obscure Morescola, Morescono, Aleatico, Carcajolo Nera, Montanaccia. Life on the estate is regulated by the rhythms of the sun, moon and the planets. The grapes are said to develop in health and harmony with the assistance of traditional Corsican polyphonic music played over loudspeakers.
If it wasn’t for Antoine Abbatucci, most of the grapes now grown by his son, Jean-Charles, might well not exist. In the 1960s, local Corsican grapes were being rapidly replaced by international competitors. Antoine was charged with preserving these varieties and, using a hectare of land, created an ampelographic station and saved the fate of 18 varieties.
When Jean-Charles took over in 2000, he began grafting these old varieties onto the existing vines, and then started to grow them biodynamically. Today, 14 of those varieties can be found at Domaine Abbatucci, and there are now around 18 hectares of vines, which are planted on granite slopes 100 metres above sea level. They thrive in an ecosystem in which a wide variety of flora and fauna grow beside the vines, adding to the ecological diversity, an important part of bio-dynamic viticulture. In the winter, a herd of sheep comes to the land, and there is also a herd of striped “tiger cows”. The cows are bred by Jean-Charles’s brother, Jacque, and eaten at the restaurant run their other brother, Henri. The vines are punctuated by shrubs and olive trees.
The estate produces around 1,500-3,000 bottles of each type of wine from these old heirloom varieties, so you’ll have to hurry if you want to experience the unique qualities of grapes that were raised from the dead. Today Jean-Charles’s wines are recognised by experts all over the world as wines that preserve the very particular and original flavours of Corsican terroir.
More recently the estate has been trialing the use of sea water sprayed on some of these vines instead of classic Bordelais mixture of copper and sulphur in order to have healthier soils without the build up of copper and to reduce the use of sulphur. The wines are all bottled with minimal sulphur and all wines have the capacity to age in the medium to long term while remaining fresh fine and elegant with remarkable clarity of fruit carried by refreshing acidity. Wines of exceptional balance and vivacity.
