Gérard Courrèges speaks about his wines like a Burgundian. But this isn’t the Côte-de-Nuits, and the varieties aren’t Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. This is Corsica, and we’re talking Sciaccarellu and Vermentinu.
These native Corsican varieties are unfamiliar to most, but thanks to Gérard’s conviction that they can make uniquely beautiful, terroir-driven fine wines here, Domaine de Vaccelli has become one of the most wanted allocations in wine. Sciaccarellu is a thin-skinned grape that combines a Pinot Noir-like freshness with Mediterranean warmth. Generous and approachable when first bottled, the best also have the structure to age gracefully. Vermentinu is better known as the Italian Vermentino, but the wines it makes here are in a different league, combining sumptuous weight with extraordinary detail.
Domaine de Vaccelli’s 18 hectare estate includes some of the island’s oldest vines of both varieties, planted on rugged, granitic hillsides. Farming is organic and the vineyards worked entirely by hand. Gérard ferments all his wines with wild yeasts, then ages them in a variety of vessels including stainless steel, barriques and concrete eggs.
With demand far exceeding the 7,000 cases made each year, these wines are rarely available to buy in the UK
