Domaine de Gioielli
Cap
Corse, a largely isolated and thinly populated peninsula at the top of Corsica,
sits like a finger pointing up at Genova, its former colonial ruler. The
Genovese landed on the Cap in the 14th century and from there soon
conquered the entire island. On the Cap, they left an indelible mark on the land,
building towers on the cliffs overlooking the sea to watch for other invaders.
One Genovese in particular, Monsignor Doria, from one of the most illustrious
families of the Genovese Empire, landed in the Cap and settled in a cove not
far from the sea, creating an estate he came to call his “Gioielli” or his
“Crown Jewel” in the dialect of the time. A villa was built in the middle of
the hills which form a natural amphitheatre and on which vines and olives were
planted and flourished.
Several
centuries later, with the Genovese long since expelled, the towers they built
left crumbling (such as the one on
the domaines label), and the Doria estate abandoned and in ruins, a young
Corsican by the name of Michel Angeli moved in and reclaimed the land. Michel
is from the nearby city of Bastia, but moved out to the country with his family
to escape the bombardments of the city during World War II. It was then in the
countryside that he found solace as well as finding the forgotten piece of land
called Gioielli. After the war he took cuttings of Vermentinu and Codivarta
from neighboring farmers, some Niellucciu from Patrimonio and some Aleatico
from nearby Elba Island to replant his slopes. His first harvest was in 1952
and Gioielli was reborn, much to the delight of the local seafaring and
fisherman population, who have remained loyal clientele ever since.
Little has changed at
the domaine since it began, and it is still Michel who works the vines and
makes the wines on his own as he has done for nearly six decades. The tourist
buses do not stop at Domaine Gioielli—in fact, it is very hard to find. Angeli
never intended to make his wines known beyond his neck of the woods and never
exported anywhere, not even to mainland France (!) before meeting Kermit. Since
the beginning he has paid little attention to the outside world, uninterested
in the new technologies and fads that have afflicted so many other domaines.
His wines have a timeless sense of place, much as the one who makes them, a
wise, gentle, true artisan who lives for his métier.

Cap Corse, a largely isolated and thinly populated peninsula at the top of Corsica, sits like a finger pointing up at Genova, its former colonial ruler. The Genovese landed on the Cap in the 14th century and from there soon conquered the entire island. On the Cap, they left an indelible mark on the land, building towers on the cliffs overlooking the sea to watch for other invaders. One Genovese in particular, Monsignor Doria, from one of the most illustrious families of the Genovese Empire, landed in the Cap and settled in a cove not far from the sea, creating an estate he came to call his “Gioielli” or his “Crown Jewel” in the dialect of the time. A villa was built in the middle of the hills which form a natural amphitheatre and on which vines and olives were planted and flourished.
Several centuries later, with the Genovese long since expelled, the towers they built left crumbling (such as the one on the domaines label), and the Doria estate abandoned and in ruins, a young Corsican by the name of Michel Angeli moved in and reclaimed the land. Michel is from the nearby city of Bastia, but moved out to the country with his family to escape the bombardments of the city during World War II. It was then in the countryside that he found solace as well as finding the forgotten piece of land called Gioielli. After the war he took cuttings of Vermentinu and Codivarta from neighboring farmers, some Niellucciu from Patrimonio and some Aleatico from nearby Elba Island to replant his slopes. His first harvest was in 1952 and Gioielli was reborn, much to the delight of the local seafaring and fisherman population, who have remained loyal clientele ever since.
Little has changed at the domaine since it began, and it is still Michel who works the vines and makes the wines on his own as he has done for nearly six decades. The tourist buses do not stop at Domaine Gioielli—in fact, it is very hard to find. Angeli never intended to make his wines known beyond his neck of the woods and never exported anywhere, not even to mainland France (!) before meeting Kermit. Since the beginning he has paid little attention to the outside world, uninterested in the new technologies and fads that have afflicted so many other domaines. His wines have a timeless sense of place, much as the one who makes them, a wise, gentle, true artisan who lives for his métier.
Technical Information
Wine | Blend | Vine Age | Soil Type | Vineyard Area* |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cap Corse Blanc |
Vermentinu | 40 years average | Schist, Clay | 4 ha |
Cap Corse Rosé |
45% Aleatico, 45% Niellucciu, 10% Vermentinu | 40 years average | Schist, Clay | 1 ha |
Cap Corse Rouge |
50% Niellucciu, 25% Aleatico, 25% Merlot | 40 years average | Schist, Clay | 4 ha |
Rappu |
Aleatico | 50 years average | Schist, Clay | .5 ha |
Muscat du Cap Corse |
Muscat à petit grains | 25 years average | Schist, Clay | .5 ha |
* "ha" = hectares; one hectare equals roughly two and a half acres |
VITICULTURE / VINIFICATION
• Only native yeasts are used during fermentation
Cap Corse Blanc :
• Fermented in cement and stainless steel cuves• In some vintages he blends in Codivarta
Cape Corse Rosé :
• The Aleatico and Niellucciu are made using the saignée method from the red cuves
• All three grape varietals are co-fermented in stainless steel and cement cuves
• No malolactic fermentation
Cape Corse Rouge :
• Fermented in concrete and stainless steel tanks
• Aged in 100% stainless steel cuves
Rappu:
• A rare and traditional wine from the Cap Corse
• Aleatico grapes are harvested at regular maturity and then the bunches are set on straw beds in the sun for ten days, concentrating the grapes
• Grapes are then pressed and fermented in concrete tanks
• Fermentation lasts until it naturally finishes, leaving a touch of residual sugar and 16% alcohol
• Wine is aged in old oak barrels for seven years
• This wine is not recognized under an AOC, Vin de France, or Vin de Pays
• Current available wine is from the 2005 vintage
Muscat du Cap Corse:
• Grapes harvested at regular maturity
• Fermented in concrete tank until 90g RS remaining
• Fermentation is then blocked by mixing in Corsican grappa, which raises alcohol percentage to 16% and ending fermentation
• Aged 7 months in stainless tank before bottling
General Information
- Country
- France
- Region
- Corsica
- Appellation(s)
- Cap Corse, Vin de Pays de l’Île de Beauté
- Producer
- Michel Angeli
- Founded
- 1952
- Annual Production
- N/A
- Farming
- Traditional