Vin de Corse Porto Vecchio: Domaine de Torraccia: Cuvée Oriu 2020
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"A rare 'vin de garde' from Corsica. This well-coloured red comes from the south of the island. Lovely dense fruit flavours."
Tom Stevenson - The New Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia.
The Imberts' flagship organic wine is this 'Cuvée Oriu' - named after the Corsican word for cache or stash of something to be secreted away - only produced in superior vintages. It is made from a certified organic blend of 80% Nielluccio and 20% Sciacarello that can easily support 10 years bottle-age and deserves to be decanted before serving.
This opaque, brooding, spice-infused wine, with its pitchy tastes and rugged structure of tannins, marries brilliantly with the chargrilled, garlic-studded meats and requires little accompaniment, save perhaps some fresh bread and a tomato and parsley salad.
| Style | Red Wine, Sec, Full-bodied, Non Sparkling |
|---|---|
| Wine Region | Corsica |
| Grape Variety (Cépage) | Nielluccio, Sciacarello |
| Food & Wine Matching | Beef, Charcuterie, Mushrooms, Salads |
| Viticulture | Organic |
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Cellarage | An impressive wine in youth but will benefit from additional bottle age (up to 10 years). The Imberts suggest drinking bottles up to 15-20 years after the vintage in good years. |
| Vinification | Grapes are macerated for 10-15 days before fermentation on the skins that is temperature-controlled to 25C-30C. Matured for 3 years in concrete tanks with the minimum of racking. |
| Alcohol By Volume (%) | 13 |
Domaine de Torraccia
An aristocrat from Nevers, the tireless, flamboyant Christian Imbert arrived in Corsica in the 1960s after many years trading spices in Chad and set about planting his organic vineyard on reclaimed scrubland in the hills above Porto Vecchio, in the south east of the island. Overlooking the bay of Pinarellu, its granite soils have a south-eastern orientation yet the vines cling to sometimes steep mountainous slopes and are cooled by vigourous sea breezes.
Christian promoted the interests of like-minded, quality-driven Corsican winemakers through the UVA Corse collective that he founded over thirty years ago and was a member of the prestigious Academie du Vin. We were saddened to hear of his passing in August 2023, at the very respectable age of 94.
The Domaine has been ably run by Christian's son, Marc Imbert for some years and now numbers some 43 hectares of vines. Marc continues to follow the same organic and qualitative principles first established by Christian.
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