This weekend I paid yet another visit to one of my favorite wine regions in Italy, if not Europe. The Bolgheri area famed for its muscular Super Tuscans that fetch prices of up to 700 Euro for a a bottle of this fabulous red wine made from the blending of Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, and other grapes with Sangiovese, in the Bordeaux tradition, should be on everyone's list of wine-travel highlights.
We visited Guado al Tasso at Belvedere above, which is producing outstanding wines, aged in oak , that are shipped all over the globe. There is a visitors centre and a good shop on the estate, where the wines can be tasted. If you don't find it open, never fear, because there is the great and friendly Tognoni enoteca in the charming town of Bolgheri( pictured above with its tower) which I've written on before, where all the best can be tasted. A 10dl glass will set you back 7 euros and a mere taste from the dispenser on the bar, 3.50 euro. Good Tuscan food is served here too.
This time I'll pick out two SuperTuscan stars one much more affordable than the other.
Here I tasted Guado al Tasso 2005 and the blackberry notes, tannins and finish are really something. This is a wine to pair with a good chianina steak. Surrounded by walls of outstanding wines like Sassicaia, Solaia, Grattamacco and a whole stable of Antinori Super Tuscans in this cantina, most costing from E80 to E120, and having just visited the estate and seen the wine aging in oak barrels (above), I could really appreciate the care and attention to detail that went into the making of this very fine wine.
I realised I was living the dream of so many wine writers who want to experience this place apart.
We chose the enoteca/restaurant Ribotta(meaning hangover in Tuscan) in nearby Castagneto Carducci for our lunch of Tuscan crostini, papadelle cinghiale ( wild boar), and then cinghiale chops on the grill with salad.
Here we chose Michele Satta's Bolgheri Rosso 2007 to pair with the rich game meats. This affordable Tuscan from one of the premier winemakers in the area is worth every cent of the 20 euro we paid for a bottle of the 2007 Bolgheri Rosso (pictured above) a Blend of Cabernet 30%, Sangiovese 30%, Merlot 20%, Teroldego 105 and Syrah 10%. The wine is bottled unfiltered and left to age in the bottle, before being sold.
Ripe fruits, plum and berry flavours are enhanced by very muscular tannins, an exciting wine.
Then after lunch we explored the charming hilltop town and all it's enotecas. Name dropping is unavoidable here.
My tasting notes on all the fab wines I tasted here and more on this special region and its high quality wines and olive oil, will be coming up in parts two and three, so don't miss out.
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