Pinia 2022 ile de Beaute Bianco Gentile (Corsica)

The Wine

This is such a unique and delicious wine we found it didn't fit our usual lexicon of descriptors. The wine is very pale, leading us to think it would be thin and without much going on aromatically. But our eyes deceived us as the aromatics were full of white flowers, orange baby aspirin, peach, Meyer lemon and minerality. These themes carried through on the palate and left us with long and pleasant mineral-driven finish.

Crafted on the French island of Corsica, just north f the Italian island of Sardinia, it likely comes as no surprise that the region and its foods and wines and culture are a bit of a mishmash. Perhaps that's why this is the only wine we've ever seen from the obscure grape called Biancu Gentile. It is an ancient Corsican grape that almost vanished - officially considered extinct at one point - until a few surviving vines were discovered in the 1990s. 

Wine Geek Trivia - despite the similar names, DNA testing indicates there is no relation with Italy's Biancolella or Bianco d’Alessano. Biancu Gentile (aka Bianco Gentile) is unique to Corsica!

Why We Love It - the wine has aromatics that aren't dominated by distracting floral notes, texture without being heavy, a food-friendly saline finish and an overall profile that is very different, unique and easy to love!

The Winery

Pinia is one of the island's smaller producers who enjoys an outsized amount of attention for their wines - exactly the sort of rising star we love to discover and advocate. They're located on the Eastern side of the island - facing Italy - in an area whose grape growing dates back to the Roman times. The sand-and-gravel soils and the vineyard's seaside microclimate offer the critical drainage and freedom from phylloxera, diseases and heat spikes - all critical elements for this unique grape to show its best stuff.

Their style is non-interventionist in the cellar, hands-on in the vineyard. So many of our favorite producers fit this mold - small enough to know their own vineyards intimately, committed to transparent wines, and large enough to export a small amount to the US.