Gorgona’a 2020 vintage, the “redemption” Cru created on the last prison island in Europe

The air is vibrant these days on the isle of Gorgona, in the vineyards on the last prison island in Europe, and not only from the sea, but it also smells of redemption. And wine. Alongside the unmistakable Mediterranean scents of floral and fruity notes in the new Gorgona 2020 vintage, recently presented, there is also a “scent” of hope, enclosed in the bottle of the special Crus of Vermentino and Ansonica. The Frescobaldi Social Project created this product starting in 2012 in collaboration with the management of the prison that has been on one of the “pearls” of the Tuscan archipelago for over 150 years (since 1869, ed.). This is the ninth year and the eighth Frescobaldi Estate harvest. There are great expectations at the prison each year, because the wine that the prisoners produce, under the supervision of the brand’s agronomists and winemakers in the just over two hectare vineyard, gives them another chance for a new lease on life and believing in tomorrow. They are allowed to spend the last part of their sentence working in contact with nature and learning a trade that will help them reintegrate into the workforce and social reality.
“We have had the unique opportunity to be able to experience this extraordinary island for almost a decade”, explained Lamberto Frescobaldi, president of Marchesi Frescobaldi. “every year this project makes us prouder, and we have now reached the ninth year. Here in Gorgona everything is included in the scents and the flavors - the love for the island, man’s care and passion, the hope for a better life, the influence of the sea and the extraordinary environment that have given life to an incomparable and exclusive wine, symbol of hope and freedom. In other words, it is “the essence” of this land and of a project that never ceases to give us an emotional experience”.
Gorgona wine is the “extraordinary edition” of the island, and each year it narrates a different aspect. Coming to Gorgona means discovering unique biodiversity, thick Mediterranean vegetation, and a pristine sea. But it also means fortresses, which have witnessed ancient civilizations and a small church built in the early eighteenth century by the Carthusians, dedicated to San Gorgonio. The Gorgona 2020 wine tells us about the fortress and the towers on the island. On the steep and jagged west coast stands the mighty Torre Vecchia, an imposing Pisa manor, or rather, better defined “a fortress”, overlaid in local stone, which is now in ruins, built between the 11th and 13th centuries, with the purpose of garrisoning the stretch of sea towards Corsica and defending the monks from frequent pirate raids. On the opposite side of the island, towards the Continent, the small fishing port Cala dello Scalo, is dominated by the Torre Nuova, a 17th-century Medici fortification that completed the marine defense system. There are also two reddish towers on the island erected at the end of the nineteenth century to monitor movements on the mainland. The Clock Tower, whose name was inspired by the sundial placed on the side of the building, stands at the edge of the pine forest, near the vineyards and then there is also the Garibaldi Tower towards Cala Scirocco.
The 2020 season on the Gorgona island was characterized by very rainy winter, but temperatures were never too rigid, because they were constantly mitigated by sea breezes. The vines began their vegetative cycle, as usual for the island, somewhat early, sprouting during the first week in March. The spring was particularly pleasant, and mild and sunny days favored the vegetative-productive development of the plants, accompanying them to a summer that turned out to be slightly cooler than in previous years. Temperatures have been rising since the end of July. However, the unique microclimate of the due to the presence of the sea, combined with isolated rainstorms, has allowed the grapes to arrive at the harvesting period in perfect physiological and health conditions. September has been very sunny but breezy, and has permitted the grapes to develop a good polyphenolic ripening, accompanied by an intense and elegant aromatic profile.
Gorgona 2020 expresses the great Mediterranean character, the warmth of the sun that kisses the island and the freshness of the sea breezes that are constantly blowing. The color is straw yellow and full of golden reflections. The bouquet is an elegant combination of Mediterranean, floral and fruity notes. The hints of Mediterranean undergrowth are reminiscent of cistus, helichrysum, mastic and juniper combined with broom and a hint of hawthorn. There are aloes hints of exotic fruits among the fruity notes, such as abacaxi and maracuja as well as citrus fruits of bergamot. the flavor and freshness are wonderful on the palate, intertwined in a magical balance, accentuated even more by the initial softness and extreme elegance conveyed throughout the tasting. Like all vintages, 2020 also manifests itself as yet another sensational chapter in the history of Gorgona. Gorgona allows the one who tastes the wine to breathe and savor the stories that only this little, big island and its inhabitants can narrate.
Gorgona Rosso was created in the 2015 harvest, from a few rows of Sangiovese and Vermentino Nero, grown organically and then refined in terracotta jars. Today, the vineyard has an extension of almost two and a half hectares, comprised of the initial one that Frescobaldi brought back into production and a second one planted in 2015. The limited and organic production of Gorgona white was created in the Vermentino and Ansonica vineyards: only 9.000 bottles. It is a wine that, thanks to many testimonials, such as, from the President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, who received the Magnum number “0” from Lamberto Frescobaldi himself, to Andrea Bocelli, who wanted to create the text and sign the label of the 2013 harvest, to Simonetta Doni of Studio Doni & Associati, one of the very few international graphic studios specialized in wine label design that each year participates by giving them the graphic design, to Giorgio Pinchiorri, patron of the three-starred Enoteca Pinchiorri, who contributes with his exclusive cuisine to promote the gastronomic heritage of Gorgona, to Argotractors, a company of the Argo Group that donated a vineyard tractor for the activities to be carried out on the island. Within 7 years, it has conquered the International markets, from New York to Tokyo, and above all, the hearts of those who have had the good fortune to taste it.