Corsica Flashcards
2013 Yves Leccia YL
Ile de beaute
80% Grenache, 20% NIELLUCIU.-possible italian origin, similar to sangiovese
The dress is a beautiful dark cherry red. His nose include gourmet flavors of red fruit, raspberry, cherry, licorice small note. His mouth is fond, very greedy, full of voluptuousness, flexible, and good length.
Clos Canarelli
Corse Figari Rouge
80% Niellucciu, 15% Syrah, 5% Sciaccarellu
From Niellucciu with around 15% each of Syrah and Sciacarellu, all raised in foudre for close to 18 months, the red Clos Canarelli 2011 Corse Figari saturates the nose and polished palate with brown-spiced and pungently herb-tinged ripe plum and morello cherry, scents of thyme and iris leading the inner-mouth aromatic procession and smoky black tea adding further allure en route to a hauntingly long and complex finish. I suspect that this impeccably-balanced beauty will be worth following through at least 2018, and probably well beyond.
Farming: Biodynamic (certified in 2006), Organic
(Certified Ecocert)
Near the remote village of Tarabucetta, outside of Figari on the southern tip of Corsica, Yves Canarelli has made quite an impact not only in Corsica, but on
mainland France as well. Now it is our turn. As a former student of economics who turned to enology, Yves strikes a fascinating balance between thoughtful intellectual and ardent traditionalist. Since taking over the family domaine in 1993, he has championed the restoration of native Corsican varietals. The appellation Corse Figari lies along a
plateau just inland from the coast, where grapes have been farmed since the 5th century B.C. Though Figari is regarded as the most ancient growing region of Corsica, it has still taken pioneers like Yves having the courage to rip out entire vineyards of foreign varietals before Corsican wines
have finally received the recognition they deserve. While the INAO remains slow to approve bottlings of some of the oldest of these heirloom varietals, often reducing them to the inferior “Vin de France” appellation, Yves Canarelli defends the history of Figari’s terroir with passion, confidence, and conviction. Although sparse in quantity, the granite and red alluvial soil at Clos Canarelli is nonetheless rich in
minerals. The ever-constant wind from the Gulf of Figari makes for challenging growing conditions:
while it serves as a terrific natural antiseptic for the vines, it can also dry the soil out easily. Yves’s
choice to convert the domaine to both organic and biodynamic viticulture has made it possible for
his wines to display an unusual freshness, complexity, and aromatic intensity that others in Figari
have been unable to achieve. In the cellar, Yves only uses indigenous yeasts, and prefers slow,
deliberate, precise fermentations, and leaves his reds unfiltered. Ever the scholar, he also enjoys
experimenting with egg-shaped cement tanks (modern-day amphorae) and whole cluster
fermentations. After nearly ten years of watching and tasting Yves’s evolution, KLWM is proud to
announce Clos Canarelli as the most recent addition to our portfolio of the cream of the crop
Corsican domaines.
