Riccardo Baldi’s La Staffa estate presented at Andreina

The presentation of the La Staffa estate at the Andreina restaurant in Loreto turned into an ode to Verdicchio.

It takes a lot of talent to turn an estate presentation into an ode to its wine. But talent is something there is no shortage of for 28-year-old Riccardo Baldi from Staffalo, the owner of the La Staffa estate in Castelli di Jesi. The estate presentation was held at therestaurant Andreina in Loreto, in the province of Ancona, a classic example of the best Marche cuisine specialized in grilled diashes and game and one of the best restaurants in the region.

The guests were a mix of journalists from the general press (Corriere Adriatico) and trade publications (Slow Food, Gambero Rosso, Intravino and DoctorWine) and sommeliers (Luca Belleggia from Il Pagliaccio in Rome, Pascal Tinari of Villa Maiella in Guardiagrele and Vicenzo Donatiello of Piazza Duomo in Alba) with everyone seated around a rectangular table for lunch on Monday, October 15. The presentation began with Baldi giving a short history of the estate, the first vintage was 2010, which has already carved a place for itself in the world of Verdicchio.

“I quit my studies in economics to dedicate myself to making wine. I knew nothing about vineyards or wineries and so I did an internship with the best producer in Staffolo, Lucio Canestrari, at the Fattoria Coroncino estate”. Canestrari was present at the lunch and for those who do not know him, he is one of the leading, first generation of small producers who in the 1980s lifted the quality of Verdicchio and helped get it known better outside the region. At the table he was exquisitely ironic and his accent betrayed his native, Roman roots. “The only thing I taught Riccardo was not to screw up,” Lucio told the guests.

The La Staffa wines offered proved Riccardo learned the lesson and did not disappoint with a style in which attention to winemaking and spontaneity have achieved a magical balance. The Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superior 2017 was warm and open with notes of lavender and fennel; the vigorous Castelli di Jesi Verdicchio Riserva Rincrocca 2015, had a lovely note of aromatic herbs front and center; and then there was Castelli di Jesi Verdicchio Riserva Selva di Sotto 2015, from a single vineyard in Cupramontana on the border with Apiro and Staffolo. Although this was the latter’s debut vintage, it would appear to have everything it needs to be one of the best in the appellation alongside the wines of Bucci and Brunori, Felici and Pievalta, Fattoria San Lorenzo and La Marca di San Michele and few others. The bouquet of Selva di Sotto is all Staffolo and the mouthfeel that of Cupramontana and in its DNA there seems to be a hint of salt that gives it a remarkable persistence.

And what about the cuisine Andreina’s Chef Errico Recanti?

It keeps getting better. There were three courses: a stratospheric oyster, spaghetti cacio e pepe, which was textbook and primordial at the same time, and baccalà (cod) that was basic but fine – all held together and underscored by a smoky note; a prawn to howl to the moon about, exalted by mango and lamb grated like bottarga; roe venison and guinea fowl with meat juices. To end there was dessert, an area when Recanti has no rivals among all his regional colleague. Everything as supervised by Ramona Ragaini, evermore the gracious hostess.

By the end, the presentation became an ode to Verdicchio with a homage to Riccardo Baldi’s (and many others’) maestro Lucio Canestrari, with a Verdicchio Gaiospino 2000, a wine with great personality and an almost Lambic attack, with a smoked-roasted note on a background of yellow pepper and a lively an very rich mouthfeel thanks also to a refreshing volatile hint at the end that was never out of line. Then there was an immense Verdicchio Cuprese 1991 from Colonnara, which at the time had been made with grapes from the Selva di Sotto vineyard. This was a great drop with its notes of malt, wax and chestnut honey. When this wine came out on the market, in the spring of 1993, it retailed for the equivalent of 2.50 euros today.

Related Products