Domaine de Baccari Première de Baccari White 2023

Rolle from Morocco meets amphora and the limestone foothills of the Atlas.

Première de Baccari White is made entirely from Rolle, from a rigorous selection of the estate’s second plot. At 650 metres above sea level, on red clay over soft limestone, the variety takes an unexpected direction: rather than relying on ripe fruit and weight, the wine is defined by saline freshness and a clear expression of the limestone beneath the vines.

The estate’s plot-by-plot vinification and ten months of ageing in amphora allow the wine to build texture without obscuring its identity. The colour is bright gold. The nose brings together lime blossom, honeysuckle and white-fleshed fruit, with a touch of apricot. On the palate, freshness and minerality take centre stage, with a saline edge that carries through the finish and underlines the wine’s limestone origins.

That contrast is what makes the bottle compelling: a Rolle grown under the sun of Meknes, yet defined less by sheer ripeness than by freshness, texture and stone.

Southwest of Meknes, on the first foothills of the Atlas Mountains, Domaine de Baccari has 22 hectares of vines within a 78-hectare family estate, at 650 metres above sea level. The vineyard is divided into nine separate plots, each worked according to its own exposure, soil and grape variety. Fine red clay soils lie over soft limestone, in a continental climate tempered by Mediterranean and Atlantic influences, with abundant sunshine but relatively cool conditions.

In the early 2000s, the owners decided to revive winegrowing on the family property by replanting the vines. Since then, the estate has developed a plot-by-plot approach, with hand harvesting at individual plot maturity, 24 hours of cold storage for the grapes, and separate vinification in small stainless-steel vats.

The vineyard has been certified organic since 2022 and is now being converted to biodynamic farming. Cover crops, mulching, biodynamic preparations, compost made partly from resources generated on the estate, and solar panels are all part of a broader approach that treats the property as a living agricultural ecosystem, where vineyards coexist with olive trees, fruit trees and permaculture gardens.