8 ha stretched across wildly steep terraces at 400 metres are what Filippo Rondelli calls home. A few kilometres from the French border in the heart of the Rossese di Dolceacqua DOC, the estate of Terre Bianche has been the standard bearer for this wine for more than a century. The abundant rainfall and dazzling white clay soil imbue this remote corner of Italy with a natural propensity for delicate, aromatic wines that run counter to the current vogue for alcohol and extraction.
The salty tang of the Ligurian Alps is captured perfectly in Filippo’s classic duo. The Rossese is delicately sculpted with wild berries, cherry and a herbal twist (not dissimilar to Gamay x Mondeuse). Taken from 30 – 100-year-old vines, the wine is intensely perfumed with pleasantly bitter notes. The Pigato is spicier with a Mediterranean personality of Amalfi lemon and wild fennel. Both wines pair sublimely with fish and white meat. These are expensive but they’re the offspring of a most difficult labour and well worth the price.
Red
Rossese di Dolceacqua DOC
White
Pigato DOC 'Riviera Ligure di Ponente'
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