2015YLRouge2015 Domaine d’E Croce-Yves Leccia, YL, Ile de Beaute Rouge, Corsica.
Yves Leccia is one of the most celebrated vignerons on Corsica and his wines from the Patrimonio near the bay of Saint-Florent are some of the purist examples on the Island, especially this gorgeous YL Rouge, a blend of 80% Grenache and 20% Niellucciu (Sangiovese) grown on the clay, limestone and schist soils of his Domaine d’E Croce estate. None of Leccia’s wines see wood at all, this blend from 20-40 year old vines, all organic and handmade in the truest sense was fermented and raised using only stainless steel cuves, all the grapes are carefully sorted and de-stemmed. You’d think this would result in a basic and simple wine, but the YL Rouge by Yves Leccia shows a remarkable terroir character and is gloriously complex with layers of ripe fruits, spice, savory tones and mineral notes with solid tannins and lively acidity, this is beautiful and earthy wine that pleases the senses with lovely texture, finesse and stylistic charm. The 2015 YL starts with a flinty/smoke note along with liquid wild flowers, pepper and blue fruit before leading to a full bodied palate of sweet currants, blueberry, boysenberry, black cherry and plum accented by bacon, lavender, chalk/crushed stones, porcini and anise. It starts earthy and vibrant, then opens wide and delivers a flow of rich/dense fruit and a long finish that combines the floral essences, framboise as well as a hint of fig and meaty bacon, this is wine that captures it’s sense of place perfectly, but also reminds me of old school Burgundy and Rhone reds at times, I’ll be grabbing a few bottles of this Leccia myself, I love this dark Corsican red, drink over the next 3 to 5 years.
($26 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

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