Koerner brothers Jono (left) and Damon. Koerner Wines Facebook
The Koerner brothers of Clare Valley, Jono and Damon, are making some lovely wines, and doing it in their own, highly original way.
If you didn’t know better, you might assume they are Corsican. Looking at their labels might suggest this. There is a red wine made from the red grape sciacarello to give it its Corsican name. It’s titled Mammolo—the Italian name for this grape, which is also used as a blending variety in Tuscany’s Chianti.
Those looking to try low-intervention wines that tread the ‘natural’ path, but which are clean and well-made, should try these wines.
Sciacarello is also employed as a minor grape in two other Koerner red blends. As the brothers say, a little bit goes a long way—which is also why it’s only ever a minor grape in Chianti.
Yet another red wine is named Nielluccio and subtitled sangiovese. You guessed it: nielluccio is the Corsican name for sangiovese. It’s a pretty smart wine in a crunchy, fruit-driven style.
Continuing the Corsican theme, there are two vermentinos (vermentini?). One is subtitled Rolle (the French name for this grape) and the other is Pigato (a Corsican name for the same grape). They were made from the same fruit, grown on the same vineyard and harvested at the same time, and both have a stated 11.8% alcohol.
However, the Pigato is produced very differently from the Rolle: fermented on skins for 20 days, and its appearance is cloudy.
This Article was originally published on The Real Review
