Conte Leopardi of Le Marche

Just south of the city of Ancona in the region of Le Marche overlooking the Adriatic Sea lies the Azienda Agricola Conte Leopardi Dittajuti. This estate of 45 hectares produces 250,000 bottles of red and white wine annually. It has been owned for many generations by the Count Leopardi Dittajuti family; its current owner is Count Piervittorio, with winemaker and agronomist Riccardo Cotarella assisting him.

One sunny afternoon Signorina Giada Liberati served as our guide for a tour and tasting.

As usual we began the tasting with white wines. Our initial white was a 2015 Marche DOC Passerina Bassamarea, a 100% Passarina grape 13% alcohol wine. Its color was the typical Passarina pale straw and it had a light fruit nose. This wine finished medium and would be a very good aperitif. I rated this elegant offering an 88.

Our second white wine was another Marche grape, a 2015 Marche DOC Percorino. This 100% Pecorino grape offering had an alcohol content of 13.5% and was also pale straw in color with a very light fruit nose. It finished medium and very smooth. I rated this lower acidity wine an 88.

Next we tried Conte Leopardi’s 2016 Marche IGT Bianco del Coppo, a 13% alcohol wine made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes. It was very pale straw in color with a very light fruit nose. This wine finished medium and I rated it an 87.

A 2015 Marche IGT Calcare followed. This is a 13.5% alcohol wine produced from 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes. Pale yellow in color, it had a complex nose and finished medium long and very elegant. This wine was excellent and I rated it a 90. It would go well with white meats.

Moving to the red wines, we tried a 2015 Rosato, a rosé wine made from 100% Montepulciano grapes. The wine was blush pink and had a nice fruity nose. It finished light and pleasant and I rated this rosé an 87.

Gaida Liberati of Conte Leopardi winery.

Gaida Liberati of Conte Leopardi winery.

The heart of Conte Leopardi is its DOC Rosso Conero wines. We began with the youngest, a 2015 Marche Doc Rosso Conero Fructus. A 100% Montepulciano grape 13.5% alcohol wine that was aged 8 months in stainless steel and 2 months in French oak barriques, this wine had a deep garnet color and a nose of fruit and leather. It finished medium and I would recommend this for fish as well as meat dishes. I rated this wine an 87.

Next we tried another 13.5 % alcohol, 100% Montepulciano grape offering, a 2014 Marche DOC Rosso Conero Villa Marina. This wine was a deeper garnet in color and had a clear fruit nose. It was aged for 8 months in stainless steel and 3 months in Franch oak barriques. The Villa Marina finished medium long, smooth and elegant, and I rated it an 89.

The third red was a 2010 DOC Rosso Conero Casirano, a 13.5% alcohol blend of 85% Montepulciano, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Syrah. This blend is aged for one year in French oak barriques followed by one year in the bottle. The result was a wine of deep garnet color with a nose of clean spice. It finished medium and I rated this very nice European style wine an 89.

Our last wine was the flagship of the winery, a 2008 Marche DOCG Rosso Conero Riserva Pigmento, a 14% alcohol wine made from 100% Montepulciano grapes. Hand harvested grapes were aged for 2 years in French oak barriques followed by one year in the bottle. This wine was deep garnet in color with a very fresh nose. It finished long and very smooth, an excellent example of Rosso Conero Riservas. I rated this elegant wine a 93.

Conte Leopardi is imported in the U.S. by Aventine Hill in New York and by La Cigale Wines in Fort Worth, TX.

Our thanks to Signorina Giada Liberati for her wonderful hospitality and insights during our visit.

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