Boccadigabbia

The Boccadigabbia wine estate is situated on the rolling hills that from the Adriatic rise towards Civitanova and it was once one of the “100 farms” belonging to Napoleon III. In 1956, its 10 hectares of vineyards were acquired by the Alessandri family. The vineyards are made up of the so-called international or French varieties, a hold-over from its French ownership - mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay – while in Villamagna Floriani, near Macerata, native grapes are cultivated like Verdicchio, Ribona, Malvasia, Sangiovese and Montepulciano.

Usually when this winery is the subject, especially when there is a vertical tasting of older vintages, everyone expects to sample Akronte, their most famous red, a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. However, this is not always the case. In a tasting organized a while ago at the Rome restaurant Il Ceppo, the protagonist was a surprising white wine made from a native Marche variety, not Verdicchio but a grape that unfortunately fell by the wayside back in the 1960s: Ribona. Boccadigabbia offered five vintages from an almost 10-year period and produced under the name Le Grane Colli Maceratesi Ribona DOC.

This amazing and surprising tasting was conducted by the estate’s current owner Elvidio Alessandri, a decidedly charming man with a strong personality. He told the story of his estate with irony and many authentic and amusing anecdotes, explaining how this once-traditional variety was brought back and how the wine as made, using the old peasant custom of adding “lu Cappellu”, destemmed and slightly overripe grapes which give the wine greater body and color.

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