On a recent trip to Italy we again visited the region of Le Marche on the Adriatic Coast and stopped in at the relatively new winery named Le Senate ( www.lesenate.it/). The winery, located in the hills overlooking the small town of Altidona and the Adriatic, is owned and operated Giulio Visi and his wife Pamela.
Most of the wineries in this area are hundreds of years old and still operated by the same family. But in 2003 when Le Senate was formed, Giulio and Pamela decided that their wines would not simply follow the traditional wines of the area such as Rosso Piceno. Rather than employing long-established grapes like Montepulciano and Sangiovese, Le Senate would grow French varietal grapes so that winemaker Guilio could create high quality wines unique to the area. Thus in 2003 they planted Cabernet Sauvingnon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. At present, Le Senate is the only winery in Le Marche offering a local rendition of a Bourdeau wine.
Le Senate has released only one wine so far, its 2012 Barbula. However, since they plan to release a Riserva Barbula within twelve months, they allowed us into the winery to taste the first vintages they have bottled as well as barrel taste various wines before they are blended. I enjoy barrel tasting as it gives a preview of the future. All the individual wines we tasted were good but I was particularly impressed by the Merlot. This may be a future stand alone wine.
See on wineloverspage.com
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