Frescobaldi Gorgona Bianco Costa Toscana IGT 2023
(Tuscany, Italy) - [JS 97]

About the Winery:
The Frescobaldi family began producing wine in Tuscany in 1308, and for centuries has been synonymous with wine production in Italy’s most celebrated wine region. 

Gorgona wines grow on a small island in the Tuscan archipelago that historically housed monks and hermits. Though that history sounds similar to any number of winegrowing regions today, Gorgona is unique among them all not for its terroir – though the island is stunning – but for its farmers.

The island became an experimental penal colony for the kingdom of Italy in the 19th century, essentially an open-air prison and farm. The prisoners can move freely on the grounds and tend to agricultural work, the idea being that they learn a trade in order to reintegrate into society after serving their sentence. The Frescobaldi family’s viticulturists and oenologists have worked with the inmates since 2012, expanding the vineyard in 2015. It now measures two hectares and grows two wines, a red and a white.

ABOUT GORGONA

The most unique winemaking collaboration in the world, the Gorgona prison colony seeks to give its inmates a path to reintegrate to society after their sentences by allowing them to learn agricultural trades in the open air. The Frescobaldi family has worked with the colony since 2012, with the vineyards totaling a miniscule two hectares.

THE WINE

This wine, a blend of Vermentino and Ansonica, grows from a vineyard planted in a small amphitheater overlooking the sea, protected from the various winds that buffet the island. The Frescobaldi family’s oenologists and viticulturists have worked with the inmates on the penal colony since 2012 to tend the vines and make the wines, teaching them a valuable trade to ease their reintegration to society.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

VARIETY: 50% Vermentino, 50% Ansonica

VINEYARD: Two hectares planted in an amphitheater overlooking the sea on the tiny island of Gorgona, off the Tuscan coast

ALC. BY VOL.: 12.50%

Tasting Note:
Gorgona 2023 has a beautiful, distinctive straw-yellow colour with golden reflections, brilliant and crystalline. The bouquet is complex and elegantly intense with Mediterranean and iodine notes that stand out. Among the Mediterranean scents are helichrysum, savory, and rosemary, followed by floral notes reminiscent of broom and chamomile. The fruity part tends more towards yellow-fleshed fruit and exotic fruits but also delicate citrus notes. On the palate it is savoury, fresh and lingering. It has a remarkable persistence and a full taste-olfactory response. Once again Gorgona impresses and amazes us with his decisive character. Welcome Gorgona white 2023.

Ratings & Reviews

97 Points - James Suckling:
"Aromas of seashells, salt, stones, lemons and hints of melon. It’s medium-bodied with a lovely presence and finesse, with subtle mango and lychee fruit. A rare wine from the island of Gorgona off the Tuscan coast, which is a maximum security prison. Unique on so many levels. Drink or hold." - JS (Aug 2024)