Agricola Tenuta Colpaola

Agricola Tenuta Colpaola farms at Matelica in the Marche, in the hills of the Apennine interior.

Verdicchio di Matelica is the smaller and less known of the two Verdicchio appellations, and the more interesting. Where Castelli di Jesi lies closer to the Adriatic, Matelica sits in a narrow inland valley that runs north to south rather than towards the sea, so it receives no maritime moderation at all. The result is a genuinely continental climate with hot days and cold nights, and wines of greater structure and acidity.

Verdicchio is one of Italy's finest white grapes and one of very few capable of ageing for a decade or more, developing a nutty, honeyed depth. Its name comes from the greenish tinge of the ripe berries.