Between Apiro and Cupramontana, right at the heart of the lands of Verdicchio, we have been devoting our utmost care to our vines for generations. We strive to make true wines, telling the story of our wonderful land and, to some extent, of us personally, of our passion, and of our determination, by which we have made so many sacrifices and a few privations to go on and always try to get the best from our ten hectares of vineyards. We have made it, at last, or so it seems. Critics praise us and our products are included in the wine-list of several important restaurants.
But there is still a long way to go, as we know. This is why we make one small step ahead every year, as Verdicchio, the world’s greatest white grape, demands.
Some awards received thanks to our work...read more
In the same breath, Italy’s most important wine publication, Gambero Rosso, named
Leopardo Felici 2020 Winemaker of the Year, and called his Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi “among the best expressions of the Marche.”
Mineral-driven and laser-like, cast in the mold of Burgundy’s greatest whites, the Andrea
Felici Verdicchio is one of the best values in Italy. Sea-sprayed lemon peel, sliced green apple, delicate white flower, and wet stone are incredibly focused and pure both on the nose and the palate, offering a perfect match for everything from simply sautéed seafood to fettucini Alfredo.
Year after year, this tops the annual best-of articles from critics and journalists around the world. Forbesincluded Felici’s wines in their list of the best whites in Italy, and Corriere della Sera, one of Italy’s top newspapers, listed Felici in their top 50 wineries of Italy, alongside such icons as Sassicaia, Quintarelli, and Cavallotto. Gambero Rosso has long been a fan, awarding Leopardo’s wines Tre Bicchieri many times over.
Success of this magnitude has been a long time coming for Leopardo Felici. His family has been tending their hilltop land for generations, and before his father Andrea handed over the keys, he wanted to make sure that his son understood the entire world of wine, not just Italy’s Marche region.
Years of work as a sommelier in London and Italy—ultimately at Enoteca Pinchiorri, the most famous of all of Italy’s Michelin three-star restaurants—led to a love affair with Chablis and white Burgundy. The influence of those minerally, terroir-driven wines inspired this Verdicchio.
Leo himself has summed up his winemaking as working with “love and infinite attention to detail,” but a lot more than that goes into it. Vines aged up to 40 years are chosen from around the Felici estate which, at close to 2,000 feet in elevation, is higher than any other in the appellation. As a result, the dramatic shift between warm sunny days and crisp nights allows the wine to boast stunningly expressive fruit alongside the kind of structure that most white wines never achieve.
After harvest, the juice is soaked for several days on the skins in order to impart it with even more character, then fermented in stainless steel and concrete—Leo doesn’t want oak to obscure what makes his land so unique.
The wine is then aged on its lees for up to a year, which lends the wine a sense of creaminess alongside its vibrant energy.
The result is a wine that critics adore and sommeliers fight over.
The vineyard is the heart of the entire undertaking. Sometimes it drives us mad, and on other occasions it makes us rejoice. It’s there, nevertheless, that we spend a considerable portion of our lives. We try to comply with its demands and thus allow its personality to emerge, without unwarranted strain or tension. . On this account we strive to obtain each year the proper quota of production, thus ...read more
Verdicchio only gives its best in the Marche region, between the Adriatic sea and the Apennine mountains, in sometimes narrow, sometimes softly sloped valleys, always swept by a gentle breeze, sometimes at considerable altitudes characterized by wide temperature ranges. The territory of Apiro ensures its best expression: located on a hill at the feet of Mount San Vicino...read more
Verdicchio, the King of White Wines, a Red Wine disguised as a White one. Its origins are lost in centuries, but then converge into the only land where it can always give its best. It is a strong, full-bodied variety of grapes, which tends to late ripening and favours well-exposed hilly regions and calcareous-clayey soils, preferably not too dry. It has excellent sugar-development properties and ...read more
Looking at the general weather condition all over thru the year, we had: a dry spring with warm temperatures, a bit above the average for the period which anticipated the budding; the summer season brought more rain with numerous thermal oscillations. This was followed by hot weather, interspersed with more cold and rainy days, during which the temperature.....read more
Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi classico superiore Andrea Felici
A blend of young and older vineyards
Winemaking method: few days on the skins
Ageing process: In stainless steel tanks
Aging on yeasts: 3 months
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Vigna Il Cantico della Figura - Verdicchio dei castelli di Jesi classico riserva
Winemaking method: fermentation on the skins (2 weeks)
Ageing process: In vitrified cement
Ageing on yeasts: 12 months
An additional 6 months in bottles before being released into
the market.
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