White Regional Italy under £10

This award-winning wine is often found along the Mediterranean coast and on the islands of Sardinia and Corsica, it is of course...

Lunae Bosoni, Colli di Luni Vermentino

The popularity of Vermentino is growing, offering an original alternative to the better known international grape varieties. You increasingly find it along the Mediterranean coast, as Rolle in the south of France, and in Liguria, Tuscany and on the islands of Sardinia and Corsica.

The DOC of Colli di Luni, with Vermentino as the sole grape variety for white wine, and Sangiovese for red, was created in 1989 and crosses the regional boundary of Tuscany and Liguria, with the larger part of the appellation in Liguria. Diego Busoni considers the wine of Tuscany to have more weight and body than those of Liguria.

Lunae Bussoni is a family company, situated in the town of Ortonova, in the Magra Valley above La Spezia. The family own 45 hectares of vineyards, of which Vermentino is the most important, and they also have other original local varieties such as Pollera Nera, Massereta and Vermentino Nero, grapes which you rarely find outside Liguria.

They work with a large number of small growers to bring their total vineyard holding to 60 hectares. The vineyards are in three different zones, in the hills at an altitude of 300 metres, with more vineyards on low foothills, and the rest on the plain. They benefit from the tempering effect of the maritime influence and are protected from the prevailing winds by the Apuanian hills.

Bosoni produce three qualities of Vermentino, the etiquetta Grigio, or grey label, enjoys a simple vinification, with a temperature controlled fermentation in stainless steel vats, in order to emphasise the freshness and minerality of the Vermentino.

Etiquetta Nera entails a selection of grapes in the vineyard, with some hours of skin contact and the wine spends longer on its lees with some bâttonage, so that it is richer and fuller, with more ageing potential. And finally there is the cru, Cavagino, with old vines, part of which is fermented in barrel.

For Diego Bosoni, who is the fourth generation, the tipicity of Vermentino is ‘harmony, minerality, freshness and elegance’. And that is certainly what you find in this trophy winner.

www.cantinelunae.com 00 39 0187 660 187

Written by Rosemary George MW