Faustine Vielles Vignes, Rouge VdF 2023

Dark fruit and herbal spice in a red wine that stays cool and linear despite its 15% ABV. Over black cherry and mulberry lies an ethereal top note of rosemary, lavender and bay leaf, echoing the maquis that surrounds the vines.

The Taravo valley in the heart of Corsica, 150 metres above sea level. The vines root in granitic sandy soils whose natural north- and northeast-facing orientation lends freshness and tension. Domaine Comte Abbatucci farms 21 hectares here, alongside olives, orchards, vegetable gardens and woodland.

Sciaccarellu from old vines, one of eighteen native varieties that Antoine Abbatucci preserved from disappearing in the 1960s within an ampelographic collection. His son Jean-Charles Abbatucci took over the estate in 1992 and converted it to biodynamic farming in 2000: horse ploughing instead of tractors, a flock of sheep for cover-cropping, preparations made from medicinal herbs, all work carried out according to the Maria Thun calendar. Grapes are hand-harvested into small crates, followed by a rigorous selection in the cellar.

The entry is dark-fruited and exuberantly juicy, the acidity finely woven. The dark red and black fruits from the nose return, framed by fine-grained, tightly knit tannins. Joined by olive tapenade, tomato leaf, black cardamom and light tobacco. The finish stays fruity and slightly austere, spicy and cool.

Grilled merguez, grilled mackerel with aubergine caviar, or grilled summer vegetables — aubergine, pointed peppers and courgette — with olive oil, herbs and sea salt.

The estate farms biodynamically and is Demeter-certified, with the Demeter logo on the label. The Faustine line is named after Jean-Charles Abbatucci's daughter.