Domaine Sant Armettu

A historic estate in the Corsican vineyard

The Corsican vineyard is especially known for its great white wines of Patrimonio and its muscats of the Corsican Cape. The southern part of the island is therefore less appreciated by the amateurs of the dive bottle. However, one can find there superb domains which magnify the local soil with a majority of autochthonous grape varieties which one finds nowhere else in the world. Let's stop today in one of these emblematic domains of southern Corsica: the Sant Armettu domain. Nestled in the paradisiacal setting of the village of Olmeta, the vineyard was created more than sixty years ago by Lucien Seroin and his son. At the time, the vineyards around Sartene were almost all in a wild state but the quality of the soil was remarkable. It was first necessary to clear the plots that would give birth to the great wines of Sant Armettu.

An estate that cultivates the Corsican identity

The name of the estate refers to the legend of a Corsican Saint Hermit, passionate about plants and their healing powers. Via this tribute to the history of the island of beauty, but also to the grape varieties of the estate and the character of the wines, one immediately realizes the resolutely Corsican identity of the Sant Armettu estate. Here, no Grenache or Cinsault straight from Provence but island grape varieties such as Sciacarellu, Nielluciu, Vermentinu or Biencu Ghjentile (Bianco Gentile). These will reflect the richness of the Corsican terroir that saw their birth, the sea air, the intoxicating aromas of the maquis and the clay-granitic soil of the village. In order to preserve these unique terroirs, the estate has also taken steps to obtain the Organic Agriculture label.

The wines of the Sant Armettu estate

The estate's range begins with the "Mino", literally, "the Little Ones" in Corsican. The three colors are declined there with the aim of producing gourmet wines, easy to drink everything from aperitif to cheese, from summer to winter. No question of abandoning the Corsican identity of the wines of the domain, it is rather a question of giving a first glimpse, more accessible (in terms of price as of tasting), of the know-how of Sant-Armettu.

Next come the "Rosumarinu", "rosemary" in Corsican. Named after this emblematic herb of the maquis, these wines are also produced in an optic of initiation to the Sant Armettu style even if we will notice them more concentration and aromatic intensity than on the side of Minos.

Let's move on to the heart of the Sant Armettu range with the "Myrtus". Here we are facing wines that can be described as gastronomic. Always declined in the three colors, they benefit from longer maturation with more than a year of aging and aging before marketing.

The top of the Sant Armettu range consists of the "Burghese", named after the ancient burghers of Sartene, and the Ermite vintage. No rosé on the Burghese but wines with very extensive aging (2 years for the whites, 3 years for the reds), wines that must be waited a few years before they can enjoy their full potential. Character, finesse and purity, this is how we could summarize the spirit of these wines. As for l'Ermite, this is a 100% red wine from a selection of Sciacarellu plots, with an intensity rarely reached on the island of Beauty.