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Rocca di Frassinello Ornello Maremma Toscana DOC – Outstanding Flavor, Ratings, and Price!

frassinello-ornello-wineI am delighted to highlight Rocca di Frassinello Ornello Maremma Toscana DOC 2012 this week!

My industry friends at
Trattoria Delia
(www.trattoriadelia.com)
rip through this wine
and once you try it,
you’ll know why.

toscana_map_smornello-italian-wineOrnello instantly takes your senses across the Atlantic Ocean and drops them off in the heart Tuscany.

Breathing in aromas of redcurrants, stewed cherries, and vanilla then letting the earthy, almost balsamic like flavors wash over your palate is an exquisite experience.   Ornello is savory and full-bodied, yet round with supple and velvety tannins.

Savoring Ornello by itself is a treat.  Having Ornello with Pappardelle, Bistecca all Fiorentina, other meat dishes, or even cold cuts and ripe cheese is a memorable culinary experience.

ornello-wine-labelAt only $32.99 a bottle, Ornello is an affordable luxury that you can stun your family or friends with at your next gathering.  Ornello punches way above its weight, it is one of the top 10 wines in the store for under $40.

Distributed by my friends at www.calmontbeverage.com, snag a bottle of Ornello and drink it now, with friends, or toss one in the wine cellar and break into it in case of a stunning wine emergency.

–  Jason, Beverage Warehouse Wine & Beer Manager

calmont-winevias_wine

From viaswine.com:

WINE DESCRIPTION
The image used on the label represents the “Maremma cowboy” a symbol of elegance and strength typical of Maremma. Still today, Ornello is the name of the wooden lance used to move cattle. The only Rocca di Frassinello wine with Syrah, this wine has a full and rich character with a nice elegance and freshness, typical of the winery style.

  • Owner: Paolo Panerai
  • Winemaker: Alessandro Cellai
  • Varietals: 40% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 20% Syrah
  • Alcohol Content: 14%
  • Production: 50,000 bottles
  • Vineyard Location: Giuncarico/Gavorrano-Grosseto
  • Orientation: South west, South east
  • Elevation: From 40 to 100 m a.s.l.
  • Vines Planted: 1999-2003
  • Trellising: Spurred cordon
  • Vines/Acre: 5,900/Ha
  • Soil: Schist soil and medium mixture rich on clay and skeleton

Vinification
Maceration on the skins with frequent delestages and pumpings over for 20-25 days. Fermentation using natural yeasts in stainless steel for 15 days at a controlled temperature of 27°C.

Aging Process
10 months in 225 L French barrique, bottle refined for six months.

Reviews:

2012 Rocca di Frassinello Ornello Maremma Toscana DOC – 90 pts.
Wine Advocate, September 2015
The 2012 Maremma Toscana Ornello is a blend of Sangioveto, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. It shows a full and voluptuous style although it is hard to recognize the varietal characteristics given the various contrasting elements of the blend. You get the acidity of Sangiovese with the aromatic softness of both the Merlot and the Syrah backed by the natural structure of the Cabernet Sauvignon. Ornello may be lost among the vast sea of super Tuscan-inspired reds, but this wine shows very attractive features nonetheless. -Monica Larner

2012 Rocca di Frassinello Ornello Maremma Toscana DOC – 90 pts.
James Suckling, October 2014
“Cigar box, olive tapenade and Kirsch. Fullbodied and robust with chewy tannins, reflective of the hot 2012 vintage. Drink now.” -James Suckling

2012 Rocca di Frassinello Ornello Maremma Toscana DOC – 90 pts.
Wine Spectator, October 2014
“Taut and dense, showing cherry, mushroom, leather and chocolate aromas and flavors. Fresh and complex, with assertive tannins that need time to integrate. Fine length. Best from 2016 through 2023.” -Bruce Sanderson

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Terra di Lavoro Ides of March Wine Sale!

The Ides Are Upon Us! Get Your History on with a Celebrated Roman Wine.

terra-di-lavoro

This week only, we’re offering a limited supply of the 2005 Fattoria Galardi Terra di Lavoro for $79.99 (reg $120+!)…here’s your chance to get your hands on it!

The Ides of March, which falls on March 15 in the modern calendar, is notorious as the date of the assassination of Julius Caesar. What many don’t know is that it also marked the Feast of Anna Perenna, a goddess of the year. The day was enthusiastically celebrated among the common people with picnics, drinking, and revelry.

So instead of worrying about the Ides of March as a time of bad luck, we say let’s think of it as a celebration of change! What better beverage for your Ides of March / Anna Perenna picnic than a much-lauded wine with roots that go back to Roman times?

Terra Di Lavoro

Terra di Lavoro, first produced in 1994, has established itself as one of Italy’s cult wines. Proprietors Arturo and Dora Celentano have a huge passion for food and wine, and that exuberance comes through loud and clear in these fabulous wines. Terra di Lavoro is 80% Aglianico and 20% Piedirosso from vines planted by consulting oenologist Riccardo Cotarella beginning in 1991. The fruit is harvested according to ripeness rather than strictly by variety, which means that Aglianico and Piedirosso are sometimes picked and vinified together. After the alcoholic fermentation, the wines are racked into French oak where they remain on their lees for several months. The final blend is assembled and undergoes what is usually a very slow malo, in steel for 80-90% of the wine, prior to being moved back into oak. There is little question that malolactic fermentation in stainless steel contributes significant freshness and aging potential to this heroic southern Italian wine.

Robert Parker and his team of reviewers consistently rave about the Terra di Lavoro. Here is the Robert Parker review:

“It’s hard to know what to write next about this fabulous wine, which not only has revealed the phenomenal potential of the blend of 80% Aglianico (for power and depth) and 20% Piedirosso (for aromatic complexity) but also demonstrated why Falernum, the wine produced in this area under the Roman Empire, was considered the greatest of the ancient world, capable – according to Petronius – of lasting 100 years. I’ll make no predictions about the aging potential of the 2001 Terra di Lavoro, other than the fact that I will regrettably not be around for the centenary celebration, but I would be amazed if it did not last twenty five years. In the meantime, it gives back every nuance of aroma and flavor of the slopes on which it is grown, the blackberry/raspberry fruit, truffles, tar, underbrush, and warm volcanic soil in a packed but super-elegant format, rich, powerful, mouth-filling and palate-satisfying, concentrated, velvety, and flawless. To the owners, and to Riccardo Cotarella, the only possible words which can be expressed are those of simple gratitude for this unexpected miracle which appeared out of nowhere in 1994 and has not ceased to amaze ever since.”