Terralibera Insieme Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Marche Italy 2023

The countryside of Le Marche has long been a place of respite for winemaker Gian Mario Bongini of Terralibera. Through his long career working in corporate finance in Milan, Gian Mario would steal away to Le Marche to breathe in the fresh air and gain relief from the hustle and bustle of the city. After years of being drawn back and falling in love with the region’s wines, he started a collaborative winery, Filodivino, with friends in Castelli di Jesi, where he worked nearly 10 harvests. Yet, through the years, he continued the search for something to call his own. In 2021, that dream became a reality when Gian Mario purchased a unique plot in Serra de’ Conti with two parcels of Verdicchio. Procuring this plot was the impetus for Terralibera (freedom of the land in English), a brand in which he can fully express his terroir through a hands-off approach to a personal favorite grape, Verdicchio.

Le Marche stands out as a grape-growing region due to the myriad of soil types and microclimates that stretch from the Apennines Mountains in the west to the Adriatic Sea in the east. Warm temperatures exist further inland, while cool climates are closer to the marine breezes, with limestone-rich, calcareous, and clay soils throughout. White wines are most prevalent, with Verdicchio being the king varietal, and historical documents show vineyard plantings of the grape that date back 600 years. There are two DOCs (Denominazione di Origine Controllata or Italian for Controlled Designation of Origin) for Verdicchio in Le Marche, and Terralibera features the Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOC. For this designation, a wine must be made up of at least 85% Verdicchio from an area of rolling hills surrounding the town of Jesi. Gian Mario’s vineyards comprise two adjacent Verdicchio parcels in the Castelli di Jesi DOC. His Insieme (togetherness in Italian) vineyard straddles the valley of two hilltops, with varying exposures, soil types, and altitudes among just 5.5 hectares. Wines from the vineyard are cohesive and celebrate the differing intricacies, hence the Insieme name.

Gian Mario hand-harvests, de-stems, and gently presses the Verdicchio before fermentation. He ferments the wine using the pied de cuve method, which involves harvesting a small number of grapes ahead of time, crushing them, and allowing them to ferment spontaneously. Think of it like a sourdough starter that is added to the main lot of grapes after harvest to kick-start fermentation. After fermentation, the wine aged for six months in stainless steel tank on the lees and continued aging for two months in bottle before release. The final Insieme wine displays classic Verdicchio style with zippy acidity reflected in herbaceous and crisp green aromas, and bitter notes reminiscent of toasted almond. The softer, luscious palate delights in lemon custard and peach melba flavors with a touch of salinity and minerality.