Marotti Campi Salmariano Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Riserva 2003
Light gold in colour with a clear, bright appearance, it smells slightly sweetish with a whiff of candy floss at first followed by copious amounts of butterscotch and a scent I can’t really describe but says to me 'hot climate'. It's something I sometimes pick up in Aussie chardonnays and allude to as 'cockatoo poo'.
A bold style, nutty and buttery to the taste with fleshy ripe stonefruit adding to the mid palate weight and citrus rind adding crispness to the finish. As the lightly smoky aftertaste lingered, I also detected a hint of salinity, the mineral component of the wine.
My first Verdicchio - and I was impressed. It was a modern style, a new world style, a clean style made partially with French oak and extended lees contact, a wine of weight and texture. Never in a hundred years would have guessed it was Italian.
NZ$31. 13.5% alc. Cork closure.