Sergio Marani Verdicchio di Matelica Sannicola 2023 750ml

Named after the nearby church of San Nicola, this three-hectare vineyard occupies a steep southwest-facing slope of iron-rich clay-limestone that tops out at 480 meters altitude. Marani produces an exceptionally complex, intense, and long-lived Verdicchio di Matelica from Sannicola’s oldest vines (planted in the early 1970s), aged two full years in 15-hectoliter casks made from local Apennine oak and bottled without fining or filtration. Compared to the basic Verdicchio above, Sannicola is denser and richer, with notes of almond nougat complementing the beguiling saffron which leads the procession of aromas and flavors. Though no less acid-driven, it finishes rockier and less salty, with an almost imposing sense of grip that signals years of potential positive development.