A wine club exclusive! After tasting ‘Cuchen’ last April while visiting Selvagrossa – specifically over a lunch of truly never-ending seafood delights prepared by Signora Tadei, in view of the Adriatic from whence they came – it was a no-brainer to request a special order from our importer friends at Vinity, with the promise of getting it in your hands, dear wine club member. ‘Cuchen’ means ‘mama’s boy’ or ‘munchkin’ in the local dialect, a childhood nickname for Alberto’s brother, Alessandro, who now assists in running the property (and the kitchen.) It is 100% Albanella, long thought to be Trebbiano Toscana but recently proved otherwise; the variety appears to be genetically related to Spain’s Albariño and Germany’s Elbling and is grown almost exclusively in the area around Pesaro. Albanella is reminiscent of Le Marche’s most well-known variety, Verdicchio, but, here, as if amped up a notch – with richer fruit, steelier stone, more salty, seaside air. After a two-day cold maceration, fermentation takes place in stainless-steel tanks and is bottled with no fining. 'Cuchen’ shows bright orchard and stone fruit on the nose – pear, yellow apple, ripe white peach – with distinctively greener elements close behind – cut grass warmed in the sun, peppercorn, gooseberry, lemongrass, camomile leaves and flowers. Zippy but never sharp acidity and sunny fruit on the palate – like golden raspberries – lead to a long, supple, and savory finish. A lingering tang, like a refreshing seabreeze, recalls the wine’s coastal origins and keeps you at the table. Only 400 cases produced, 20 specially imported to California, 10 snagged just for wine club.
Located between the hills of Pesaro along the Adriatic coast, Selvagrossa was founded in 2002 by brothers Alessandro and Alberto Taddei, who developed the estate that their grandfather first purchased after returning home from WWII. Prior to starting the family business, Alberto studied oenology in Tuscany and worked a harvest with the Mondavi family in Napa. The next decade-plus was spent as a sommelier and wine buyer at Michelin-starred restaurants in Florence and Manhattan. Alberto’s brother, Alessandro, became the Executive Chef in one of Pesaro’s most prestigious restaurants, while also working for one of Pesaro’s most well-known butcher shops. This connection with the wine industry from both the wine buying and culinary side gave the Taddei’s a wealth of experience and perspective, creating a foundation for their career as wine growers and producers. Their small estate comprises 4 hectares planted to Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot (which do exceedingly well in the Adriatic terroir), as well as the indigenous white grapes Biancame and Albanella. While the estate is not certified organic, Alberto and Alessandro work organically, maintaining cover crops and using only organic treatments in the vineyards. The wines are all fermented spontaneously and a minimal amount of SO2 is used at bottling.