There is no wine region quite like western Liguria, a steep, sun-drenched coastal strip running toward the French border, and Tenuta Selvadolce is arguably its most compelling natural wine address. Aris Blancardi did not arrive at winemaking through the conventional route: he holds a veterinary degree from Tufts and spent years working in the family floriculture trade before finding himself unexpectedly in charge of the property in Bordighera. A single course on biodynamics in the early 2000s changed everything.
The Estate
The seven-hectare property spreads across several parcels, from lower coastal slopes overlooking the sea to inland plots near Dolceacqua at 600 metres elevation, where Rossese thrives in the sandy, quartz-rich soils. Ancient olive trees, dry-stone walls, wildflowers between the rows, and a dry-farmed regime without any irrigation define the landscape. Roughly 10,000 bottles are produced annually, an intentionally tiny output.
How Aris Works
Biodynamic preparations 500 and 501 are applied; that is the extent of external input in the vineyard. In the cellar, indigenous yeasts ferment in concrete tanks, and the wines finish unfined, unfiltered, without chemical stabilisation, and with minimal or no added sulfur. White wines rest on fine lees; some parcels undergo extended skin contact for orange-style expressions.
The Varieties
Pigato and Vermentino dominate the whites, the latter planted by Aris's grandfather. Rossese, Granaccia, and Ormeasco form the red side of the portfolio, all grapes native to this sliver of coast. Crescendo Bianco and the Selvadolce Bianco bottlings available through Primal Wine are lively, aromatic, and precisely Ligurian.
