When we were deciding where to go on our European adventure, I pushed hard for Corsica. I’d wanted to go there ever since taking the WSET Diploma ‘Light Wines of the World’ course.
I set to it, started researching well-known wineries, and sent out feelers for tastings to several. Not one responded – except the very gracious Marie-Françoise of Domaine Mlle. Devichi. I had read about her in a Decanter article
about the renaissance of Corsican wines.
Marie-Françoise is the 6th generation of her family (since 1734) and first woman to run this 42 ha Domaine which grows Vermentinu (for the whites) and Niellicciu (for the reds) vines. She also makes dessert wines with Muscat à Petit Grains from their family vineyards in Cap Corse AOP.
Marie-Françoise is experimenting with biodynamics and other sustainable growing methods, and her winery proudly advertises their allegiance to and support for the LGBTQ2+ community.
The day we arrived,
Anaïs guided me through an extensive tasting starting with a dry and pretty pétillant called Liberta, and ending with the 16% Mlle. D Muscat à Petit Grains digestif. A 15% Corsican Orange Liqueur was also featured – all tangerine pith and simply delicious.
There were two whites, a rosé and two reds in addition – all of which were beautifully made – 
light, 13.5% abv, clean and no reduction to speak of. Hand harvesting and careful pressing is their hallmark, and it shows in the quality of the wines.
I did come away with a bottle of the Natiu. Made of 100% Vermentinu with a salinity and minerality that cushions the lemon verbena, nettle, honeysuckle and white peach notes, it is delicate, but also solidly constructed. This wine is perfect on its own, or with salads, seafood or pasta.
If you can make it to Corsica, don’t leave Patrimonio and its rolling hills, eucalyptus and nut trees, and wild herb fields without a visit to see this Domaine and spend some time with Marie-Françoise Devichi.
They produce some pretty awesome certified organic wines from their 15 hectares which, if you can get a hold of them, will captivate you with their fresh and clean aromas and flavours.
What a refreshingly gorgeous red wine this is – the Chorus Cuvée is a Napa Valley field blend co-ferment of 32% Tempranillo, 26% Touriga Nacional, 22% Tinta Cão, 12% Tinta Madeira, and 8% Trousseau.
relief to find something unique and delicious that was NOT a Cab Sav.
A few weeks ago my sister was over and we were commiserating. I needed to pull out a good wine to bring our spirits back.
One of the tasting experiences during my day in Burgundy was at Domaine du Château de la Crée in very tiny Santenay. The Château dates back to 1431, and its main building was burned down during the French Revolution. Santenay is located at the very southern tip of the Côte d’Or. 
Château was purchased in 2015 by Grace and Ken Evenstad, owners of Domaine Serene in Willamette Valley, Oregon – which I’d been to (follow 
We started with two beautiful 2020 Chardonnays from Santenay (a Beaurepaire Premier Cru and a Les Terrasses de la Crée), but the 2018 Maranges was hard to argue with – fresh lemon, white flowers, acacia, great acidity and 12 months in oak.
Épenotes, Beaune, Premier Cru was outstanding – earthy chlorophyll and mint with rose petal, raspberry, persimmon and violet, touched by green leaf. Beautifully balanced with chalky tannins, this wine will live for a long time. 
biodynamic vineyards. 
It’s rare to taste and cover a world-first in whisky innovation – but recently, I attended the launch of a Peated Single Malt Whisky smoked with sugar kelp-infused local peat which was just that. 
The 3 year old 46% abv whisky with which the seaweed-peated clear spirit was made is outstanding. The nose and palate echo each other with Werther’s butterscotch candy and crème brûlée, sweet pipe tobacco, mandarin oil, dark chocolate and hazelnut. There is no colour added to this masterpiece – it comes from the charred Portuguese red wine barriques. 
It’s absolutely extraordinary to have such a world-class distillery creating award winning spirits in my own backyard. 
When we started planning a trip anchored to the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix, I knew I also needed to plan a stop just up the road in Burgundy.
more than a one day visit, but that’s all the time I had. So, I put the word out to my wine world friends and colleagues, and lo and behold, I got some great suggestions for a plan of attack.
st important regions of Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune together) with 
The day included visits to some of the most mythical vineyard plots from the Côte de Nuits – such as La Romanée Conti, Le Musigny, and Le Clos de Vougeot. I also feasted on pigeon at 
Château de la Crée. Ironically, I had visited both their Willamette Valley sister wineries, so it was as if my wine life was coming full circle.
Ever since I studied the wines of Corsica during the WSET Diploma Wines of the World course, I have wanted to visit the island, birthplace of Napoleon, and see it for myself.
Clos Paoli, named for his mother’s side of the family, only produces about 8,000 bottles a year on their 15 hectares, and all are made from native Corsican varietals and in traditional ways. Le Blanc is 100% Vermentinu – fresh, fruity, dried flowers and mineral, Le Rosé, a lovely blend of 70% Grenache and 30% Nielluciu, and Le Rouge, the opposite blend of the same grapes. All sport a light 12.5% abv which makes them super approachable and wonderfully refreshing.
slate in the fields and then pressing them to make wine in the tinazzi tradition – large, open wooden tubs. The wine is later fortified and then aged in oak barrels for 10 years.
translucent garnet/ruby colour, and a nose full of sweet pipe tobacco, just-turned raspberry, deep red plum and prune, light cassis, fig, date, mocha and hazelnut. With its fresh acidity and light tannins, this treat is delightfully quaffable, and with no cloying sweetness. I bought a bottle and enjoyed some every night for a week before flying home.
also soulmate to a Corsican lamb pie with chestnut purée we enjoyed.
shed and meet with Dominique for a tasting. Tell him I sent you! While I was obsessing over the wine, my husband was drooling over a genuine Corsican ‘barn find’ – a completely original and intact 1930 Donnet Six – hiding in the back of the tasting room.
You could also take part in their ‘dinner in the vineyard’ offer. And make sure you’re shipping a bag home so you can bring back multiple 
bottles. It’s more than worth the effort.
After picking, the fruit is pressed as a field blend and left to co-ferment with native yeasts. The wine ages 7 months in French oak but there’s no MLF or battonage, so the wine produced has super minerality and fruity clarity.
(5), the Bosconia is a translucent ruby turning ever-so-lightly to garnet – which in and of itself is remarkable for a 15 year old wine. The nose shows ripe strawberry with clove, cinnamon, sandalwood and green hay, while the fresh, clean palate echoes it with addition of sour cherry, rose petal and light leather belt. The finish is beautifully long on this delicious wine which has a long life ahead of it. If you have some, it will go for a good decade more.
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