Mineral, unique and very expensive: from Versilia, the world’s first wine aged in marble

It is a unique experiment, the first red wine aged in marble: the idea comes from Belgian (but Italian-born) producer Oliver Paul Morandini, owner since 2010 of the Fuori Mondo winery in Versilia. A small winery (10 hectares of vineyard) but in maniacal pursuit of excellence, with a focus on single-vineyards.
In 2019, in the midst of lockdown, his friend chef Yannick Alleno, owner of the three-Michelin-starred restaurant Ledoyen in Paris, suggested the idea of using marble in the winery, and Morandini jumped at it. With the support of entrepreneur Paolo Carli, owner of Henraux, a historic quarry in Seravezza (Lucca), a 35-ton block of marble is extracted from Monte Altissimo, in the Apuan Alps (a place famous for supplying precious marble since the 16th century for the construction of churches and works of art around the world). From this, two amphorae, each with a capacity of 17.5 hectoliters, are made to age Morandini’s Cabernet Sauvignon for two years. Then, a long period of study to understand the interaction between the two materials and bring them to harmony, where the marble dilates the wine giving it an incredible “telluric” dimension.
For now, “Fuori Marmo” will be produced in a limited edition of 120 magnums and 80 double magnums, just presented in Paris. The Bordeaux bottles will be sold at a price of 1,000 euros each. But that’s not all: the marble amphorae - weighing 2 tons each - will also be put on the market in 2024 by the Hernaux company. The price? 100,000 euros each, but they are intended to last practically forever.