We are in the Italian region of Marche, home of Verdicchio. But which Verdicchio? Yes, because this grape variety gives rise to two totally different types of wine: Verdicchio di Iesi and Verdicchio di Matelica.
I have tasted both, and both are excellent white wines that can accompany a meal from beginning to end without any doubt.
In this post I want to talk about the Verdicchio of Matelica: Matelica is a splendid medieval town and if you want to test various producers in one place, you can go to the local wine shop which is located inside the old theater where you can admire also the Roman baths.
Differently from Verdicchio of Jesi, Verdicchio of Matelica – whose production ratio is about a tenth – is “a mountain wine that does not see the sea”: its sensory profile is definitively influenced by the territory and by the strong temperature changes that occur between day and night
I must say that all (really all) the different Verdicchio bottles tasted (Gagliardi, Belisario, Bisci, Cavalieri just to name some of the producers I tried) fascinated me and I bought many bottles of them: one of the last bottles left is the one that bears the name of Eugenio Benedetti, precisely “Gegé”, one of the pillars of the Cavalieri winery.
Gegé is a true Verdicchio of Matelica, spontaneous in its minerality with herbaceous aromas and a light touch of white flowers, medium freshness and well balanced. Sensational quality!
Perfect for aperitifs, but also with fish-based dishes and why not also with pasta with meat-based sauces. I have paired it with risotto with mushrooms: a very pleasant result!