Formiche is four friends: Simone, Gigi, Dylan, and a second Simone, three winemakers and an agronomist who crossed paths and shared experiences in various parts of the world before finding themselves back in Tuscany. The project was born from the monthly gatherings they would organize, having dinner and blind-tasting various wines; years in, they realized they all shared the same vision. It became clear in their minds that they were being led to only one place and only one grape variety: Ansonica. Finding the vineyards to fulfill said vision was a bit harder, as not much Ansonica has been left in the area, but they eventually took over a small 2 hectare parcel south of the Maremma coast in a town called Capalbio, just a few kilometers from the sea, with 30+ year old vines that enjoy very pleasant sea breezes, mitigating the hot spikes in temperature and helping to keep plants consistently healthy year-round. The old rows of Ansonica were quite dilapidated, but with their own hands, pruning shears, and a huge amount of courage, they brought the vineyard back to life, and Formiche was officially born.
Ansonica is a late-ripening white variety (with an alluring golden hue once ripe), planted along the coast of Tuscany and its nearby islands since the 11th century, considered more rustic by modern oenological standards and hence too often replaced with more aromatic and ‘on-trend’ grapes.’ But, in the right hands, like those of the Formiche boys, it absolutely has a knack for perfectly expressing the particular coastal Tuscan terroir. ‘Integrale’ is 100% Ansonica with roughly 10 days of skin contact that sees spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel. It is then aged on fine lees in old barriques for most of a year. There is minimal added sulfur, no clarification, and only light filtration before bottling. ‘We strongly believe in a truly shared project,’ i ragazzi profess, ‘to produce a wine that we like and can represent what Ansonica means to us, as producers, and as Tuscan people.’ It’s deep and intense gold in the glass with perfumes of mature stones fruits – all of the peaches and nectarines – Mediterranean herbs, white pepper, white balsamic, and blood orange. Sunny, round, and pleasantly tea-like, with notably firm tannins and a dry, seaside-inflected finish. Dreamy with seafood. 850 bottles are produced annually.