Colli di Catone, Colle Gaio, Malvasia 2014

Pulcini’s top site is the Colle Gaio vineyard, which has long been recognized locally as the viticultural Crown Jewel of the Castelli Romani hills. Here, more than 30 years ago, he planted Malvasia del Lazio; believing that this low-yielding native variety would give him the ageworthy wines he was looking for. And, the resulting wine has become his magnum opus, “Colle Gaio ‘The Old White’.”

For, while the yields for all his wines are low, those of Colle Gaio average a mere 20hl/ha; achieving the concentration of grand cru White Burgundy. The wine spends three to four days on the skins prior to pressing and the fermentation proceeds slowly; often lasting up to four months. He then leaves the wine on its lees in stainless tanks for three, four or even more years until he feels the wine is ready to be bottled. And, the wine is then left to slumber in bottle, sometimes buried in sand, for years or decades in the estate’s labyrinthian cellars.

Though superbly balanced, and boasting a wondrous acid spine, the most exciting trait of Pulcini’s Colle Gaio is the minerality and otherworldly tertiary aromas that he coaxes from this noble terroir. While one vintage may be Riesling-like in its complexity, another may resemble Chablis in its minerality. Another vintage may exude orange marmalade, while another intrigues with its intense scent of gun smoke.

Though always made by the same methods, the same grapes and the same terroir, these wines are not only a study in vintage subtleties, they demonstrate with remarkable clarity how profoundly white wine can develop with time in bottle. And, they further demonstrate just how relevant the wisdom of ancient wine traditions can resonate in our modern time.