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12 February 2006

Pop Hits of the 80s + Vino Nobile

Firejethelmet As I watched the opening cermonies of the Winter Olympics, I thought, "mmhmm; I love Italy."  It wasn't the Dr. Seuss-inspired trees-with-legs.  Nor was it the fire-jet helmets that made feel as if I was watching a James Bond film.  And no, it wasn't because 'pop hits of the 70s & 80s' played as participating nations' athletes entered the stadium.  Rather, it was the perfect combination of Italian food and wine on my TV tray that ignited my Italian love.

Perhaps I should have been sipping one of the many wonderful wines from Torino's wine region - Italy's Piedmont.  After all, I could have selected a Bardolino, Barolo, Barbera (d'Asti or d'Alba), Barbaresco or even a fizzy Asti.

Yet I was in the mood for something Sangiovese-powered, so I moved further down Italy's thigh - to Tuscany.  Chianti may have been the easy choice, but I scoured the wine shop shelves for Chianti's big brother - Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.  Vino Nobile is primarily made from Prugnolo Gentile - the local name for Sangiovese.  Generally, it is fuller and more tannic than neighboring Chianti.  The wine shop's sole selection of V.Nobile was by La Braccesca - part of the Antinori Wine Armada.

The Skinny
Vinonobile_1 La Braccesca Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG 2000 ($30)

  • 80% Prugnolo Gentile ( Sangiovese) & 20% 'other' from Tuscany, Italy
  • Deep burgundy in color fading to a coppery-garnet rim
  • Scents of black cherry, prune, vanilla, mint along with hints of birch beer
  • Methinks this wine is slilghtly past its prime - the overall mouth-feel is smooth, yet the flavors are a bit blurred.  In spite of this, the wine is still quite pleasant with flavors of cherry and licorice coupled to earthy/leathery accents.  The tannins are quite soft and acidity rather low

Tuscanchop2 La Braccesca, while no longer at its peak, is still ready & willing to enhance your dinner. I enjoyed it paired to thick pork chops with radicchio, white beans and rosemary.  The smoothness of this wine was complimented by radicchio's bitterness and the chops' subtle, earthy-sweet flavors.

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