2023 Fertuna Droppello Alta Bianco Costa Toscane

This Droppello is truly sensational and is made from the Sangiovese grape variety (a typical Tuscan blue grape known from Brunello and Chianti, among others). The flavor is soft, mineral, refined, and aromatic with vanilla and caramel notes. It was the express wish of Marchese Nicolo Incisa della Rocchetta (Sassicaia San Guido) to make this white wine from a blue grape. The wine rests on the lees for 12 months and then matures for another 6 months in new oak. Sensational! A gem of a wine. A delicious pairing with various fish and pasta dishes, shellfish, but also wonderful to enjoy every day. Thanks to the (very) long on-lie maturation and (new) oak aging, this is also a wine that clearly has a long life ahead of it and can improve with age. Time will tell how long, but certainly 5-8 years. From the 2020 vintage, the wine is also certified organic (previous vintages were also made organic, but without official certification).

Fertuna is located in the far south of Tuscany, in the Maremma region. The Fertuna winery is owned by wine merchant Giuseppe Meregalli from Monza. He earned his living by distributing Sassicaia wines (Tenuta San Guido) worldwide. The owner and winemaker of San Guido (including Sassicaia), the Marquis Incisa della Rocchetta, even helped him get started and shared some of his winemaking secrets. The Marquis now even signs off on two wines from this estate: the red Pactio and the white Droppello. The company is under the expert guidance of Paolo Rivella, a scion of another prominent Italian winemaking family. His uncle, Enzio Rivella, founded several major Tuscan estates such as Banfi and is still regarded as one of the leading figures in the Italian wine world.

The estate is located on the Roman Via Aurelia Gavorrano, between Grosseto and Folonica. Besides the classic Sangiovese, international varieties such as Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are also grown here. The Droppello, a white wine made from Sangiovese grapes, is particularly noteworthy!