The Bucci family, farmers in the region from the 18th century, started bottling their wines only in 1983. They’ve rapidly shown themselves to be of the DOC’s top producers. Reasons why the wines are formidable is the age of the vines — mostly 40 to 50 years — and their parsimonious yields, which run about half of the quantity allowed by DOC regulations. The crisp 2022 delivers a mid-weight package of citrus-like flavors intertwined with mineral notes. Tightly wound at this stage, it opens nicely as it sat in the glass. I suspect it will develop even more by the summer and next year. Bucci’s wines develop magnificently with a decade of bottle age, so there’s no rush.
Villa Bucci, Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore DOC (Marche, Italy) Verdicchio 2022
By Michael Apstein