2023 Sergio Mottura, Grechetto Tuscia DOC “Poggio Della Costa” Civitella d’Agliano, Lazio, Italy.
One of Italy’s great white wines, and maybe the most under the radar, Sergio Mottura’s Grechetto is brilliantly crisp, bone dry and full of mineral toned racy citrus, green apple and tangy peach, along with bitter almond, delicate white blossoms, wet stone and verbena notes. I happily tasted through the latest set of the Mottura wines at this years Slow Wine tasting in San Francisco, and I wrote already about a cellared version of this wine, but the current release also deserves mention, and I am grateful to Sebastiano Mottura, who kindly guided me through his family’s offerings. This pale, straw/gold 2023 was striking for its purity and precision of detail, crystalline in focus and still with enough vinous quality to be generous on the lighter framed palate, capturing the best of the Grechetto varietal and the influence of this lesser known terroir that straddles the Umbria and Lazio regions of central Italy. This appellation near the Vulsini mountains and Lake Bolsena, is called the Tuscia Viterbese, and lies between the hills of the hinterland and the Tiber valley, which is a natural boundary shared with Umbria
This wine, which I’ve been enjoying for more than 25 years now, the tank raised Grechetto Poggio della Costa from Sergio Mottura, is a vibrant and leesy white wine that delivers, as noted, fine detail, energy, and complexity, making it one of the most beautiful wines made from this varietal coming from vines that are grown on mostly volcanic based soils in the Grechetto Tuscia DOC of the Lazio wine region between Rome and Umbria. The vineyards run along the Tiber River and allow for some cooling influences here and Mottura has long produced fine examples of organic and terroir driven wines not far from Italy’s capital. Father east you see Grechetto in Umbria, where it thrives in Orvieto, though this one seems more deep and stylish than most from there, and certainly both this wine and their aged version are really hitting their strides. Also, because of the river, Mottura can also produce a unique and delicious sweet, noble rot influenced, Sauternes style dessert wine, which I was also lucky enough to sample and will report fully on soon. There is also a sparkling Grechetto and a richer barrel fermented La Torre Grechetto too that is more white Burgundy like, so I highly recommend exploring all of the Mottura wines, though this Poggio Della Costa really is the best place to start.
($26 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive