2016 Villa Bucci Verdicchio Classico dei Castelli di Jesi 750 ml

Decanter’s “Finest” Verdicchio Producer

Calling all lovers of Italian whites: Ampelio Bucci has been deemed by Decanter to be “easily the most famous and arguably the finest Verdicchio producer.” Antonio Galloni’s Vinous calls him the “dean of Verdicchio” and maker of “some of Italy’s best and most age-worthy white wines.” On this gorgeous, historic estate in the Marche, vines 35 to 45 years in age produce a deceptively weighty Italian white, filled with a mouthwatering mix of ripe citrus, honeysuckle and minerality. The panelists behind Italy’s most influential wine publication, Gambero Rosso, bestowed Tre Bicchieri or “Three Glasses” honors on the 2016 Bucci Verdicchio Classico Superiore, a designation earned by only 500 wines out of 20,000. Just 125 cases.

Verdicchio, when crafted by a handful of producers in the small Verdicchio di Matelica DOCG, is Italy’s most exquisite white, distinguished by its Burgundian-like class and precision. We first fell in love with the stunning minerality of this variety in the early 1990s, and have been a fanatical torchbearer for the prize of Italy’s Marche region ever since. Bright, crisp, and offering up an ethereal mix of white flowers, green apple, and quince, the wines from the top producers of the region—Bisci, San Lorenzo, and Sartarelli—are consistently among the most compelling under-$20 bargain whites in the world.

But even among the best, few reach the heights achieved by Bucci, deemed by Decanter to be “easily the most famous and arguably the finest Verdicchio producer.” The Bucci family have been making wine in the area since the 1700s; the current steward of the estate is the charismatic Renaissance man Ampelio Bucci, who has overseen a reign of brilliant vineyard management. The old vines, their roots spidering deep into the clay soil, benefit from cultivation that is based entirely in the principles of organic viticulture and has been for 25 years.

Of the Bucci’s sweeping 988 acres, verdant with ancient olive groves and classical gardens, a mere 52 acres are dedicated to Verdicchio. Vines over 40 years in age are spread across five vineyards, the varying exposures and altitudes lending breadth and complexity to the wine. The estate-grown fruit is hand-picked, soft-pressed, and sees four months in oak before bottling.

2016, a superb year for Italian whites, delivered a Bucci Verdicchio worthy of Italy’s highest honor—“Tre Bicchieri”—in this mineral-infused beauty that will be a revelation for lovers of Muscadet and Pinot Grigio.

Jonathan Cristaldi

Editor-in-Chief, Wine Access

Contributing Writer, Food & Wine