Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
made as a dry wine, unlike the air-dried, sweet
version typical of its classic distribution area.
Offi cially, the variety is confused with Abruz-
zo's very similarly named Montonico Bianco,
which is in varying percentages in the DOC
and IGT wines of Lamezia, Savuto, and Terre di
Cosenza, but I think the authorities are really
referring to a different grape variety, Manto-
nico, not Montonico, Bianco.
Mantonico Bianco wines are characterized
by strong acid and tannin contents. Studies
have shown them to be especially endowed
with vanillin-reactive fl avans that account for
the very tannic mouthfeel. The high acidities
and tannins explain why the grape can make a
spectrum of wines, ranging from full-bodied
dry whites to sweet and sparkling ones. The
sweet wines are (by far) the best, redolent with
honeyed tropical-fruit aromas and flavors
(dried apricot, papaya, candied ginger, fi gs),
with a slightly more rustic, less complex char-
acter than wines made with Greco Bianco (bet-
ter known as Malvasia delle Lipari). Mantonico
wines also share a typical tartness at the back.
At Ceratti they age the wine for roughly four
months in old
barriques,
which they tell me is a
return to the tradition of aging in old oak bar-
rels; mantonico is thick and rich enough to
stand up to oak very well.
grape of the same name. Pellerone, Edwards
and Thomas (2001) analyzed seventeen Ca-
labrian and Sicilian cultivars at thirteen SSR
loci and found that Marsigliana Nera was syn-
onymous with Castiglione, but they concluded
that there had been an error made in the sam-
pling of the former variety, either at the plant-
ing, propagation, or documentation stage.
Research by Schneider, Raimondi, and De San-
tis (2008) implies that Marsigliana Nera is
identical to Greco Nero di Sibari as well as to
Magliocco Dolce, but this is unclear. Producers
and growers are adamant that the two varieties
are not one and the same, and the situation isn't
helped by the fact the cultivar is characterized
by great intravarietal variability, which is why
we need more research done on many different
accessions before reaching a fi nal verdict.
Federico Scala of the organically farmed
Santa Venere estate in Cirò produces a report-
edly monovarietal wine called Speziale: “We
selected vines from old vineyards about fi ve
years ago and planted it in an amphitheater-
shaped vineyard that gives the name to the
project, Anfi teatro. From what I have seen so
far, [Marsigliana Nera] appears very resistant to
diseases and is not very vigorous, though that
may be due to our vineyard, high in the hills
and on very poor nutrient-deficient soil.”
Ampelographically speaking, I don't think
Marsigliana Nera looks anything like the
Magli-
occo
s: its loosely packed bunch is medium-
small and conical-cylindrical, with medium-
large round berries, compared to the usually
bigger Magliocco Dolce bunch, which appears
to me to have a conical-compound shape, with
one to two small wings, and packed, medium-
small, round berries. It looks even more differ-
ent from Magliocco Canino, which has a loosely
packed, much bigger bunch with wings drip-
ping down the sides and oval berries. Of course,
the differences I have seen may just be due to
different biotypes with different phenotypic
aspects, and the Marsigliana Nera bunches and
the Magliocco varieties may in fact be the same.
There are no offi cial clones of Marsigliana
Nera. Marsigliana Nera is typical of Calabria,
wines to try:
For d r y mantonico, t r y : L'Ac ino* *
(Mantonicoz), Librandi** (Efeso; its fi rst vin-
tage, in 2002, was very oaky and chardonnay-
like, but it has improved greatly over the years,
becoming less oaky), and Statti**. For sweet
mantonico, try: Ceratti***, Librandi** (Le Pas-
sule), and Lento.
Marsigliana Nera
where it's found:
Calabria.
national regis-
try code number:
143.
color:
red.
This variety is also known as Marcigliana or
Marcigliano, but the extent of our knowledge
essentially stops here, as the grape has often
been confused with other varieties such as the
many
Greco Nero
s and even the Sicilian table
