2001 Clos d’Alzeto Rouge Tradition Appellation Ajaccio Controlée

Surprise, surprise. This past summer, a very close friend of mine and his wife went on a Mediterranean cruise and brought me back this little jewel from Napoleon’s birthplace, Ajaccio, on the western side of the mountainous Corsica. At some point in the past reviews, you must have deduced that I am an avid collector of rare wines—in other words, amazing wines that unfortunately do not receive much exposure in this severely bipolar, Kraft-foods grade Chianti and Dom Pérignon market. Though this wine is practically impossible to find in France proper, it’s quite rewarding to be able to experience something completely new, a wine that actually has an opportunity to convey it’s terroir to me, rather than something clunked together in a factory, with added Nutrasweet. The best part in all this? Not only did I get to try Corsica’s most prestigious sub-appellation, Appellation Ajaccio Controlée (since qualifying wines are all considered AOC Vin de Corse), but it actually qualifies for Enotheque’s platinum seal of approval as a superb smart buy! I believe a bottle of Clos d’Alzeto, pronounced “Alzetu” in Corsu (a Romance Language spoken there, of which Tuscan and Ligurian-related subdialects exist), can cost between 7€-9€ if you are able to find it in a larger, specialist wine shop in large cities (Paris, Lyon, etc). Nevertheless, this appellation is produced for local consumption.

Just to give you an idea of where this red comes from, Clos d’Alzeto (founded 1820 by Napoleon Albertini) owns the highest vineyards on the island, with vines that are twenty years of age, on average, to produce smaller crop yields of the native Corsican grape varieties. Also, the dry air, where these mountains meet the sea, along with granitic soils, combine to give this wine the personality it exhibits from first sip to last drop. If we learned anything from that Aragonese red made from the fifty-year old vines in Spain (Viña Alarba), we understand that the Clos d’Alzeto Rouge Tradition is made in perfect conditions to give the two native grapes (Nielluccio and Sciaccarello), an opportunity to shine in concentrated doses. Enologists specializing in plant genetics have recently published studies linking Nielluccio with the Tuscan Sangiovese, just to give you an idea of the grape’s balance and strength. In terms of the tougher skinned, darker Sciaccarello, it produces more robustly textured reds with herbaceous aromas. The 2001 Clos d’Alzeto Rouge Tradition is composed of 70% Sciaccarello, 20% Grenache and 10% Nielluccio (giving it a translucent ruby color, most similar to a Beaujolais Cru). I found out on a website dedicated to Corsican wines that the 2000 and 2001 vintages of this wine are highly recommended and that these wines should reach their splendor after 3-5 years of keeping…perfect timing for this distinguished gift!