Domaine A. Peraccia

Photography and writing by Ted Vance.

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A bear of a man, Laurent Costa, the owner and vigneron of Domaine A Peraccia, is a one-man show. His organic and biodynamic wines mirror his high energy and warm personality. Rich in beguiling x-factors channeled by Corsica’s queen red grape, Sciacarello, and the iron-rich sandy granite vineyards soils, they are unexpectedly captivating and complex wines for modest prices. These low yielding reds (often between 1.5-2 tons per acre) are transparent in hue but maintain a full range of unique and compelling flavors replete with an unmistakable Mediterranean island character.

Laurent took over this century old family domaine from his cousin, who worked the vineyards for more than four decades. Upon his arrival in 2008, he converted the vineyards immediately to organic and biodynamic farming and has developed a loyal cult following on the island, and he happily divulges that he doesn’t need to export a single bottle outside of Corsica; he lets only a small amount go to Japan and a couple hundred bottles to us. When I first met him, he immediately informed me that he had no wine for me to import to the States. But when I went to visit the estate a second time, he seemed happy to see me again and decided to give us a small allocation. (Read more about that story here)

It’s no surprise that Laurent is ex-military; he’s fully engaged, serious, intimidatingly intense and equally hospitable. When not standing still, he moves with urgency and gives off the impression that he hasn’t a second to spare, which is likely true. He does all the vineyard work by himself on all ten of his hectares. It’s hard to believe he runs everything alone because that’s a tremendous amount of land to cover for one person. However, he moves fast and powerfully, and if anyone could accomplish this feat and make wines of such grace and power, it’s clearly him.

Affectionately referred to as the l’Île de Beauté  by the French, and famously “a mountain in the sea” by the German geographer, Friedrich Ratzel, Corsica is one of France’s (and formerly Italy’s) most spectacular departments, and the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. With more than fifty peaks that sit above 2000 meters and the splendor of a massive nature preserve locked in by an endless amount of gorgeous beaches, it lives up to its namesakes.

Wherever there are mountains there’s usually a large diversity of microclimates and geological settings. Corsica’s mountains can block a weather front from one side of the island to the next, and where there may be snow on the mountains, an early spring day at water’s edge can seem like summer has come early. Like much of the island, Ajaccio, the island capital, has an unexpectedly strong shift in day and nighttime temperatures—a necessary balance to render wines of freshness in sun drenched vineyard areas.

Geologically, Corsica is diverse but dominated by granite, which makes up around two-thirds of the landscape. The granite lands here are geologically referred to as Crystalline Corsica (named after the quartz crystals that are always a part of the makeup of the igneous rock, granite), while the other third located in the northeast of the island is known as Alpine Corsica—read more here.

Crystalline Corsica is a pre-Alpine granite basement, a geological remnant of the Earth’s last supercontinent (where all land was one connected mass), Pangea. This is an ancient granite land that dates back hundreds of millions of years and it can take on many types of soil grain based on things like the size of its mineral makeup—such as how big its quartz crystals are. Granite can decompose into everything between gravels, sands and clays; all very different soil types that contribute many different qualities to the structure of a wine; stating that the soil is granite gives some important information but its influence on the wine is not as clear without a description of the grain of the soil. The ability to retain water and the mineral accessibility within a soil are determined by this factor of grain size, and all these things influence the shape of a wine—whether it be some of the wine descriptors we use, like “vertical” and “horizontal,” or references to the body of the wine, from “elegant” to “rich,” for example.

Click here to read a short overview on Corsican geology.

The sandy granite soils in Laurent’s nature dense vineyards manage this area’s surprise rainfalls by offering good drainage, and coupled with the seemingly ever-present beams of sunlight, there’s an inherently solid resistance against high mildew pressure. The granite topsoil here is deep—sometimes more than four meters—and this sandy soil structure makes for wines with great lift and charm.  -TV

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Domaine A. Peraccia - 2017 Ajaccio Rouge “Prestige”

Price: $39.00
Size: 750ml
Availability: 

Out of stock

Type of Wine: Red
Style: Mineral, Rustic

Inside the Bottle: There are few wines that carry the unique profile of Laurent Costa’s red wines made purely from Sciacarello than his Prestige Cuvée, the purest, most elevated example of his work. His vineyards are grown on sandy granite soils, a ten minute drive east away from Ajaccio, the capital of Corsica and the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaporte. Peraccia first timers may be taken off guard by their first bottle, as the utterly compelling and peculiar characteristics far exceed the expectation of the price. The color is lightly rusted garnet; the aromas are effusive, exotic and savory; and the palate is compact with a core of sappy, glycerol orange-tinted red fruits and refreshing mineral textures. Deep in soul, in its youth it shares a similar mood and x-factor to some uniquely individual producers, like France’s Château Rayas and Abbatuci, Frappato made in Sicily by COS and Occipintini, and Langhe wines made by G. Mascarello and Burlotto; the comparison to these luminaries may seem overindulgent (and it is when comparing pedigree with some of the wines these producers make), but in delivery Laurent’s wines speak a kindred dialect.

The history of wines in Ajaccio is replete with deep, rustic, warm wines with higher alcohol than those in other areas of Corsica. While Laurent likes his to be full in flavor and without jarring acidity, he intends to make traditionally styled wines his own way. The results are hardly traditional from an enological perspective (his are much more tightly put together) and find ethereal qualities that would be difficult to achieve by even the most experienced vignerons.

Some details: Laurent farms all of his vineyards by himself and employs organic and biodynamic methods. The soils are deep sandy granite and this wine is made of 100% Sciacarello. After the spontaneous fermentation is completed in stainless steel tanks, the wines are aged for a year or more before bottling, half in old oak barrels (more than eight years old) and the other half in stainless steel. Sulfur is kept to a minimum (the first addition is made after malolactic fermentation—about 10-20ppm, and a touch more at bottling) and racking the wine during the cellar aging is used only if necessary. The only problem with this wine (as with his other red) is the minuscule quantities available to us.

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The Wine

Inside the Bottle: There are few wines that carry the unique profile of Laurent Costa’s red wines made purely from Sciacarello than his Prestige Cuvée, the purest, most elevated example of his work. His vineyards are grown on sandy granite soils, a ten minute drive east away from Ajaccio, the capital of Corsica and the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaporte. Peraccia first timers may be taken off guard by their first bottle, as the utterly compelling and peculiar characteristics far exceed the expectation of the price. The color is lightly rusted garnet; the aromas are effusive, exotic and savory; and the palate is compact with a core of sappy, glycerol orange-tinted red fruits and refreshing mineral textures. Deep in soul, in its youth it shares a similar mood and x-factor to some uniquely individual producers, like France’s Château Rayas and Abbatuci, Frappato made in Sicily by COS and Occipintini, and Langhe wines made by G. Mascarello and Burlotto; the comparison to these luminaries may seem overindulgent (and it is when comparing pedigree with some of the wines these producers make), but in delivery Laurent’s wines speak a kindred dialect.

The history of wines in Ajaccio is replete with deep, rustic, warm wines with higher alcohol than those in other areas of Corsica. While Laurent likes his to be full in flavor and without jarring acidity, he intends to make traditionally styled wines his own way. The results are hardly traditional from an enological perspective (his are much more tightly put together) and find ethereal qualities that would be difficult to achieve by even the most experienced vignerons.

Some details: Laurent farms all of his vineyards by himself and employs organic and biodynamic methods. The soils are deep sandy granite and this wine is made of 100% Sciacarello. After the spontaneous fermentation is completed in stainless steel tanks, the wines are aged for a year or more before bottling, half in old oak barrels (more than eight years old) and the other half in stainless steel. Sulfur is kept to a minimum (the first addition is made after malolactic fermentation—about 10-20ppm, and a touch more at bottling) and racking the wine during the cellar aging is used only if necessary. The only problem with this wine (as with his other red) is the minuscule quantities available to us.

About The Wine

Inside the Bottle: There are few wines that carry the unique profile of Laurent Costa’s red wines made purely from Sciacarello than his Prestige Cuvée, the purest, most elevated example of his work. His vineyards are grown on sandy granite soils, a ten minute drive east away from Ajaccio, the capital of Corsica and the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaporte. Peraccia first timers may be taken off guard by their first bottle, as the utterly compelling and peculiar characteristics far exceed the expectation of the price. The color is lightly rusted garnet; the aromas are effusive, exotic and savory; and the palate is compact with a core of sappy, glycerol orange-tinted red fruits and refreshing mineral textures. Deep in soul, in its youth it shares a similar mood and x-factor to some uniquely individual producers, like France’s Château Rayas and Abbatuci, Frappato made in Sicily by COS and Occipintini, and Langhe wines made by G. Mascarello and Burlotto; the comparison to these luminaries may seem overindulgent (and it is when comparing pedigree with some of the wines these producers make), but in delivery Laurent’s wines speak a kindred dialect.

The history of wines in Ajaccio is replete with deep, rustic, warm wines with higher alcohol than those in other areas of Corsica. While Laurent likes his to be full in flavor and without jarring acidity, he intends to make traditionally styled wines his own way. The results are hardly traditional from an enological perspective (his are much more tightly put together) and find ethereal qualities that would be difficult to achieve by even the most experienced vignerons.

Some details: Laurent farms all of his vineyards by himself and employs organic and biodynamic methods. The soils are deep sandy granite and this wine is made of 100% Sciacarello. After the spontaneous fermentation is completed in stainless steel tanks, the wines are aged for a year or more before bottling, half in old oak barrels (more than eight years old) and the other half in stainless steel. Sulfur is kept to a minimum (the first addition is made after malolactic fermentation—about 10-20ppm, and a touch more at bottling) and racking the wine during the cellar aging is used only if necessary. The only problem with this wine (as with his other red) is the minuscule quantities available to us.

Other Domaine A. Peraccia Wines

More: Mineral, Rustic Red wines similar to this one.