As the least heralded region in a North Central Italian triumvirate that includes Tuscany and Umbria, Le Marche sometimes gets lost in the stampede of visitors thronging its famous neighbors. It’s also easy enough to mistake for Abruzzo, which it borders to the north; both are sandwiched between the Apennine Mountains and the Adriatic Sea, with long coastlines, lots of rustic greenery and no large, iconic cities (the biggest town, and the regional capital, is Ancona, pop. 100,000-ish.) But from the definite article on down, Le Marche is a place with specificity to spare.
Let’s start with the name: Le Marche (pronounced “leh-markeh”) is the only Italian region with a title in the plural form. The moniker dates back to 800 CE, when Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne assumed the throne and divided his possessions into fiefdoms, each one of them entrusted to a noble Marquis. The term “marche” derives from the German word “mark”, which means “border”; hence, Le Marche started as a group of possessions delimited by a “mark.”
The literal English translation would be “The Marches” - and so my intention was to feature it in the month of March. Which almost happened. But here we are in the first week of April instead (look out for the actual April selections the week of the 21st.) Which is probably for the best, syncopation being > symmetry in music, wine and life more generally.
Anyway, Le Marche is also a great historical source of art and culture, the birthplace of the composer Gioacchino Rossini, the poet Gacomo Leopardi and most famously, the late Renaissance painter and architect Raffaello Sanzio, better known as Raphael. In fact, the story of just how Rapheal came to grow up in the region is an excellent synecdoche for its layered treasures so, if you’ll indulge a[nother] digression, let’s take a day trip to Urbino, the town where the painter was born. Today it is the hilltop home of some 24,000 inhabitants, most of whom are students at the local university; when Rapheal was born it was an unlikely Renaissance center due to the efforts of Federico the Duke of Monteferalto, who had hired the painter’s father Giovanni Santil, as his court artist. The out-of-wedlock son of a small-town noble, Frederico became a duke by killing the apparent heir, his half-brother and went on to get rich as a soldier-for-hire with his own private army, fighting for Florence against the pope, then for the pope against Florence. In the process, he lost an eye and a hunk of his nose, and consequently is portrayed only in profile — with his (relatively) good side showing. He also expanded his duchy into an Italian power, before settling down to life as a scholar and gentleman, studying Latin, collecting manuscripts, and renovating the local Ducal Palace, aiming to make it the "dwelling place of the Muses," and bringing the Renaissance to this relatively remote destination 50 years after it flourished in Florence.
Turn over another stone in Le Marche and who knows what you’ll find. Get thirsty and there’s a number of variegated terroirs extremely well-suited to the cultivation of vines. Due to the influences of the Apennines, the Adriatic, and the region’s rivers, there are various microclimates, giving wine producers both warm and cool viticultural zones to work with. Currently there are 15 DOC and DOCG classified wines, the best known of which is the white wine Verdicchio, It is grown in two appellations in the Marche region, Castelli di Jesi and Matelica, and is also genetically identical to a constituent grape of Soave called Trebbiano di Soave. Wines made from it show a range of zesty aromas and flavors, including green apple, flower, citrus peel, and almond, depending on where it is grown; the best examples can age very well in the bottle, but when they are as good as this month’s example, it’s hard to keep them around that long.
The red is a little more unusual. Red wines from Le Marche are chiefly based on Sangiovese or Montepulciano, but this month we instead have the rare Lacrima varietal, which means “tear” in Italian, and is so named for either its tear-like shape, or its thin skin that allows tear-like drops of juice to drip from the grape. It is found almost exclusively in the Lacrima Morro D’Alba DOC in Le Marche and is ancient enough that its origins remain something of a mystery.
Salud,
Alan Hicks
Wine Buyer
PlumpJack Wine & Spirits Noe Valley
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Tenuta Grimaldi Verdicchio di Matellica 2022 |
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Region: Matelica, Marche, Italy |
About the Winery: The Matelica appellation is in the west of the Marche, in the foothills of the Apennines, not far from the border with Umbria. Grimaldi is just outside the little town of Matelica itself, at between 450 and 550 meters (1,500-1,800 feet) above sea level. The elevation of the vineyards is important to the character of these wines; higher elevation makes for a cooler climate, and better retention of acidity. The soils at Tenuta Grimaldi are rocy, and; the vineyards face east and north-east. Tenuta Grimaldi produces only Verdicchio, from four different clones. They grow grapes organically, at relatively low yields; the fruit is picked by hand into small boxes; the whole bunches are pressed, and the juice is settled out and fermented in stainless steel tanks and large wooden barrels (Fermentation and aging in large barrels is quite different from the same process in barriques, the goal with larger barrels being to add complexity to the wine without adding oak flavors.) As of this writing, the winemaker Mirko Mattana is experimenting with both indigenous and selected yeasts, to see which he prefers. After the alcoholic fermentation, the wine is then aged in the same vessels on the fine lees until bottling, which takes place in June. About the Winemaking: From vines planted in 2016 and 2017 Altitude 450 - 550 M, E-NE, clay/ marl and limestone/ marl with a topsoil of light sand. Grapes harvested in September Fermentation mostly in stainless steel (~80%) and the rest in large Austrian and French barrels. Aged for 8-10 months on fine lees. Gentle filtration. Tasting Notes: Bright pale yellow with greenish reflections; aroma and flavor of Granny Smith apple, orange peel, cut grass and almonds; mouthwatering acidity, very long finish. |
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Winemaker: Mirko Mattana |
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Price per bottle / per case $30.99/$334.70 |
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Suggested Food Pairing: works as an aperitif, but also with roast chicken, fish tacos, Vietnamese spring rolls, grilled salmon, pasta with shrimp. |
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Luigi Giusti Lacrima di Morro D’Alba ‘Rubbjano’ 2018 |
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Region: Lacrima Di Morro D’Alba DOC, Le Marche, Italy |
About the Winery: Cantina Luigi Giusti has roots that go back to 1903, when Filippo Giusti returned to Italy from the United States and bought a piece of property near his hometown. His family grew along with a passion for the land and, since the 1930s, for the cultivation of the vine. In the 1950s, Filippo’s son Luigi and daughter-in-law Maria, acquired the historic cellar of the Cantina Castelferretti. The winery began a long agricultural project focusing on the cultivation of the Lacrima varietal. While the Castelferretti cellar is still used for the sale and aging of bottled wines, in 1997 Luigi ’s son Piergiovanni Giusti, with the help of his wife Elena, bought a new cellar in Montignano, within the Lacrima di Morro d’Alba DOC boundaries. In 2000 they enlisted the assistance of enologist Giancarlo Soverchia, a specialist in the traditional grapes of the Marche. Today Piergiovanni continues his parent’s vision – to produce quality wines from the native grape of the Marche which are a distinct expression of the land and the indigenous Lacrima di Morro d’Alba. About the Winemaking: Rubbjano comes from the winery’s oldest Lacrima vineyard. Soil is Clay-based, with medium density .Elevation is160 meters (520 feet) above sea level. The vines were planted in 1994. Grapes are harvested in early October, after which they are gently pressed and undergo a slow maceration. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks at controlled temperature with pre-fermentative and post-fermentative stages of 20-22 days. The wine is aged for 10 months in small French oak barrels, six-months in bottle before release. Production: 3,400 bottles. Tasting Notes: On the nose it has an ample and persistent bouquet, with notes of withered roses, violets and nuances of vanilla. Notes of black cherries and tobacco with very gentle tannins on the palate. The mouthfeel is soft, velvety and well structured. |
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Winemaker: Giancarlo Soverchia |
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Price per bottle / per case: $34.99/$377.90 |
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Suggested Food Pairing: Cold cuts, Ciauscolo (a spreadable salami from the region), medium-aged cheeses, truffle risotto, pasta dishes with red sauces, pasta with meat sauce, Vincisgrassi (see recipe), gnocchi with Bolognese, pasta Amatriciana, pulled pork, Argentine meat empanadas, burritos, polenta with meat sauce, grilled meat; beef fillet with porcini mushrooms, lamb kebabs and roasted rabbit. |
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Vincisgrassi (Wild mushroom & prosciutto lasagne)
Ingredients:
500g chicken stock
30g pack dried porcini
mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil
100g butter
1 bay leaf
300g Portobello mushrooms
or chestnut mushrooms, halved and sliced
1 garlic clove
crushed
75g plain flour
500ml hot full fat milk
100g double cream
140g prosciutto
roughly shredded
Handful flat-leaf parsley
leaves, chopped
12 sheets fresh lasagne
140g parmesan
about two-thirds finely grated, the rest shaved
Truffle oil (optional)
Instructions:
1. Pour the stock into a saucepan, bring to the boil and tip the dried mushrooms into a heatproof bowl or jug. Pour over the hot stock and leave to soak until it has been absorbed and the mushrooms have cooled. Drain the mushrooms over a bowl, pressing down on them to release all the stock. Reserve the stock, roughly chop the mushrooms and set aside.
2. Heat the olive oil and two-thirds of the butter in a large, shallow saucepan. Add the soaked mushrooms and bay leaf, and sizzle for a few mins. Turn up the heat, add the fresh mushrooms and garlic, and fry until soft. Season, scatter the flour over the mushrooms and cook until you have a thick, sticky paste. Pour in the mushroom stock and boil until everything is gloopy. Gradually add the hot milk, stirring between each addition, until you have a thick mushroom sauce, then simmer for 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, fish out the bay leaf, then stir in the cream, prosciutto and parsley, and leave to cool slightly.
3. If cooking straight away, heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Grease a rectangular casserole dish (about 22 x 30cm) with the remaining butter and cover the bottom with a layer of lasagne sheets. Using a slotted spoon, layer about a third of the mushroom mixture and some of the sauce over the lasagne sheets, then scatter over a little grated Parmesan and drizzle with a few drops of truffle oil, if using. Repeat until you have three layers of mushrooms (save some sauce in the pan), then top with a final layer of pasta. Now spread over the remaining sauce – it should be reasonably mushroom free. Scatter over the remaining grated Parmesan and drizzle with more truffle oil, if using. Can be made a day ahead, covered and chilled.
4. Bake the lasagne for 20-25 mins until golden and bubbling. Turn the oven up at the end of cooking if it’s not brown enough. Remove from the oven and leave for a few mins to stand. Cut into squares, scatter over the Parmesan shavings and drizzle over some more truffle oil just before serving, if you like.
