An Alliance of Tuscany & Bordeaux
Posted on | December 16, 2009 | No Comments
Two notes, two Italian reds. Odd, considering Italy represents just 10% of my cellar . Anyhow… on the 2005 Castello di Gabbiano Alleanza Toscana IGT.
2005 Castello di Gabbiano Alleanza
Castello di Gabbiano is probably best known to wine drinkers as the makers of inexpensive Chiantis that are sold in your local grocery. For the more experienced wino, the Gabbiano Chiantis may be where you first got introduced to Italian reds. Such wines may now fall on your list of “pizza wines” or “Wednesday night wines” – decent with food, under $15, but often completely forgettable.
Not the Alleanza. This Super Tuscan blend will make you forget everything you’ve ever known about Gabbiano’s cheap Chiantis. Born of an alliance (hence the name) between Gabbiano’s winemaker Giancarlo Roman and Ed Sbragia (of Beringer and Sbragia Family Vineyards fame), Alleanza brings traditional Bordeaux varieties (Merlot, Cab Sauv) and Tuscany’s signature Sangiovese together into a supple, expressive example of why the Italian Super Tuscan “movement” is very good for wine lovers. I’ve always felt that slavish adherence to rules stifles creativity; the success of the legendary Sassicaia demonstrated what can happen when an adventurous Italian winemaker spits DOC/G convention into the nearest bucket.
I poured a small taste for myself and knew on the first quick whiff that this was going to need some time in the decanter, so I dumped it back in. An hour or so later, the nose had loosed up quite a bit. The alcohol had not totally blown off, but the vanilla, dark cherry, anise, and cigar-box aromas were really coming through. This smelled like a nice Right-Bank Bordeaux – the Merlot’s certainly right up front with the dark cherry, almost plummy scents, a nice hint of vanilla from the oak, and trailing behind are more red berries and cassis from the Sangiovese and Cabernet.
In the glass, the Alleanza was a gorgeous deep ruby-red. Even when swirled and tilted, the body was quite full and left good legs on the wall of the glass. The first good sip coats your palate. It is not viscous or oily, just a warm velvety coating on your tongue. I tasted a lot of fruit up front, but it was well-balanced by the vanilla and some subtle white pepper notes. This is a nice layered wine, where the transition from front to back, fruit to tannic finish, is long and smooth. I enjoyed the variety of the fruits – the dark cherry gave way to some tart cranberry and raspberry – and the underlying sweet herbaceous notes that made me think of fresh sweet basil.
The Alleanza paired well with my homemade beef barley soup, and would go nicely with any rich beef dish – stews, Osso Bucco, or even something like a cassoulet.
Price Range: $30-35
Composition: 75% Merlot 15% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon
Alcohol: 14.5%
Production: 80-85k cases overall; I could not find a breakdown showing how much of that is the Alleanza.
Website: Castello di Gabbiano
Bonus Link: Sbragia Family Vineyard
Comments
Leave a Reply