Bisci Verdicchio di Matelica 2023

If you’ve never heard of Bisci, let’s start here. Robert Parker Jr. himself called Giuseppe Bisci’s Verdicchio “one of the finest I’ve ever tasted,” and noted that “Verdicchio is one of the joys of Italian oenology that rarely gets the respect it deserves, and few producers do it better than Bisci.” That’s the highest form of praise (along with Thomas Keller writing you checks each year) but it’s hardly surprising given the winery’s history of excellence and consistency.

Tucked away in the Apennine Mountains, the white wines from Marche benefit from long summer days of continuous sun and frigid mountain evenings. These drastic temperature swings are the secret sauce that leads to expressive white wines that bristle with energy. Bisci is perhaps the most well-known winery in the region, the result of Giuseppe Bisci’s decades of churning out outstanding and unique variations of Verdicchio.

It’s easy to see why restaurants absolutely love this wine. It’s geeky and interesting; you would never know what the wine is supposed to cost. Kept in cement vats for 8 months, the wine comes out of the bottle extremely expressive with aromas of citrus fruit and jasmine, and delicious flavors of apple, Asian pear, lemon with a dash of sea salt.