A blend of two vineyards. One consists of 7 year-old vines and the other, 35 year-old vines. All stainless steel fermented and an additional 3 months on the lees before bottling.
Le Marche is a region often overshadowed by its more glamorous neighbors across the Appenines. It is a beautiful region of rolling hills flowing down to the Adriatic Sea. The shelter from the mountains keeps it sunny while the proximity to the sea keeps temperatures moderate. Combined with the fresh fish from the nearby sea it is ideal white wine country. The dominant native grape, Verdicchio, lays claim as Italy's top and most ageworthy native white variety. In fact there are two Verdicchio DOCGs in Le Marche. Andrea Felici is located in Apiro, the highest of the villages surrounding the town of Jesi (Castelli di Jesi). The Esino river divides the region with the higher elevations being on rockier soils with the lower on heavier silt and sand. This elevation of Apiro allows for great day-night temperature shift and the wines express the clay/rocky soils on which they grow.
Before Leopardo Felici was allowed to take over production, his father Andrea sent him out to learn wine and service in restaurants. Leo quickly rose in great restaurants around the world including London's Savoy Grill and Florence's famed Enoteca Pinchiorri. There he learned about great wines and how his Verdicchio could fit. He has brought this insight to the property and this sensibility shows in his wines.
Once Leo became a vigneron, he began transtioning the estate to organic farming, not because it was trendy but because he wanted to create the purest wine possible. In fact, he eschewed putting 'organic' on the label because he wants the quality to speak for itself. All grapes are hand picked using small bins and wines are fermented in stainless and concrete. The wines see no new oak but are aged on the lees to add a creamy texture and are given extended bottle aging before release.
