Domaine Marquiliani is turning out not just the best rosé in Corsica but really just about the best and certainly most sought after rosé I bring in every summer. Anne Amalric makes only three wines on her tiny 2 hectare domaine on the east coast of this beautiful island, two of them being rosé in fact, along with some of the best olive oils in France. These wines have been "discovered" unfortunately and availability gets just a little tighter every vintage.
The two rosés are almost identical at first glance but there are subtle differences. The Pauline is made from about half Syrah and half Sciaccarellu, a varietal mainly associated with Corsica but with close, equally esoteric sounding Italian cousins. This is the slightly more tinted (though still extremely pale) wine of the two with an ever so slightly darker flavor profile. The Gris is made from almost all Sciaccarellu and is just a tad bit more delicate. Both wines are made from hand harvested fruit from low yielding old vines. The grapes are picked and refrigerated on the way to the cellar where the bunches are direct pressed with virtually no skin contact into stainless steel vats. Fermentation takes place after a 72 hour cold soak to allow the lees to settle before decanting.
These wines don't go through malolactic fermentation which helps retain their mouthwatering, fresh acidity and lighter than air quality. The results are a pair of barely there, practically clear rosés with the most delicate profile you can imagine yet with intense persistence on the palate. Importer Kermit Lynch still has the most accurate tasting note in my opinion: “Drinking her rosé is like drinking a cloud. There’s an absolute weightlessness to it. Nothing is left on the palate but perfume.” That pretty much says it all. 60 bottles available in total and they always go quickly.
