History of the Yves Leccia estate

Born into a family of Corsican winegrowers, Yves Leccia never wondered what he would do when he grew up. Having settled in the early 1980s after studying oenology, he ran the family estate for many years before leaving it in 2004. In 2005, together with his partner Sandrine, they established their own estate. This comprises part of his father’s vineyards and another section under lease. The Domaine d’E Croce was born!

Organically grown Corsican wines

The Yves Leccia estate now comprises 15 hectares of vineyards. These are situated on the magnificent E CROCE and PARTINELONE plots, within the PATRIMONIO appellation. The vineyards are located on south-west facing slopes, on clay-limestone soils with schist. At the foot of the mountain range extending from Cap Corse, they benefit from a microclimate. This is due to the maritime influence of the Gulf of St Florent, which is highly conducive to good ripening.

The vineyard is mainly planted with five grape varieties:

• Vermentinu
• Niellucciu
• Grenache
• Ugni Blanc
• Biancu Gentile

Organic farming practices are applied across the entire estate. The vines at the Yves Leccia estate are ploughed and mechanically aerated to avoid the use of herbicides. This also encourages the roots to penetrate deeper into the soil and draw the best from it. Soil amendments are exclusively organic to respect the soil. The vines are pruned by hand using the short-pruning method known as Cordons de Royat, with four spurs. This is done to control yields and ensure a good distribution of the bunches. The harvest is carried out by hand, running from mid-September to early October. The grapes are then sorted, and only healthy, ripe bunches are picked.

Yves Leccia, Corsican Winemaker of the Year 2021

HACHETTE GUIDE: The great-grandson of winegrowers and an oenologist, Yves Leccia is a passionate and talented champion of the Patrimonio appellation – the first Corsican appellation to be recognised, in 1968. He made his debut in the Guide with a 1988 red and has now secured yet another ‘Coup de Cœur’ with a Patrimonio E Croce. Before going on to create other IGP wines, just as ambitious and just as quintessentially Corsican.

A breath of freedom

“For a breath of freedom”. The year 2023 marks an important milestone and a time of change for the Yves Leccia vineyard in Corsica.

Launch of the Patrimoniu AOP

After years of developing wines under the Patrimoniu AOP, the estate has decided to leave the scheme. This is despite its great respect for this AOP, which, since the late 1960s, has helped to shape the sector by fostering a connection to the local area and promoting the value of the land.

The Yves Leccia estate is certainly proud to be part of this world, proud of its existence, and proud of its growth. But it now has a strong determination to take its wines in new directions. Whilst preserving what defines their character and quality, the aim is now to experiment and innovate, in order to further develop their distinctive character.

The return of indigenous grape varieties

Starting with the reintroduction of old, indigenous grape varieties such as Minustellu, Sciacarellu and others… Diversifying techniques allows us to develop new blends, and to do this, we need to adopt a more flexible approach.

From the Patrimonio PDO to the Ile de Beauté PGI

There is no reason to believe that the Yves Leccia estate will not return to the Patrimoniu AOP, but at present its specifications do not allow for new blends, the planting of certain grape varieties, or the approach considered a crucial innovation.

The estate aims to innovate whilst respecting the land, so as to continue producing wines that stand out – wines that draw strength from their origins and from the lessons learnt over the years – always striving for excellence. This decision is part of the path the estate has always followed: that of promoting the land of Corsica and its heritage, with a commitment to reintroducing and reviving forgotten indigenous grape varieties.

This therefore gives us the freedom to explore new avenues by moving beyond the Patrimoniu AOP and marketing all our wines under the Île de Beauté PGI, whilst naturally retaining the organic certification for the entire vineyard.

The Buyback

This decision also forms part of the island’s historical legacy, that of the Riacquistu** and the desire to continue reclaiming its culture and expertise whilst adapting them to the present day. To celebrate the connection to the land (a sense of belonging to the soil) in order to create unique wines, steeped in history and meaning, wines whose quality and high standards will remain unchanged.

The Riacquistu is a phenomenon of “reappropriation” that took place in Corsica during the 1970s and 1980s. It involved the reappropriation of the language, artistic and cultural expressions, and traditional skills; the revival or recreation of a form of collective identity; and the reappropriation of history.

A few photos of the Yves Leccia estate