Merlot -- Bolgheri, Italy

It's not easy to get to Bolgheri, but we made it there this morning to drink wine made from Merlot, a grape that was once considered anathema in Italy. Named by Pope Gregory VII for its Bulgarian miltitary camp in the 11th Century, Bolgheri is a village of barely more than 100 people in the province of Livorno, Tuscany. As such, it is subject to the wine regulations of Tuscany.

It wasn't until 1971 that making wines fully, or partially, of Merlot was essentially sanctioned, albeit quite unofficially. You see, the Italians have always liked their vintners to make wines from grapes native to Italy, The evil Merlot, as well as others, was considered a French grape. Therefore, among other things, such a wine, if made in Tuscany, could not have any of the prized Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT), Demoninazione di Origine Controllata (DOC), or Demoninazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) designations.

In 1971, the famous Antinori estate made its first vintage of Tignanello -- mostly Sangiovese with a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. In a bit of marketing genius, they called it a "Super-Tuscan." It had the hint of somehow being superior to even the finest DOCG Brunello di Montalcino. A ravolution was born.

Back to Bolgheri, it's a near coastal town, nearly due south of Pisa and southwest of Florence. The soil is a bit of a sandy loam, it's warm and dry, and gets seaborne breezes from the Tyrrhenian Sea. That's really ideal for growing the so-called Bordeauz grapes.

A typical process for the higher end Merlot from the area is cold fermentation in stainless steel tanks, followed by ageing in completely untoasted French barriques, often for nearly two years. The lack of toast on the oak allows some of the natural fruity sweetness to come through.

The wines we are tasting today are bright, ruby red in color with purplish hues appearing in the light. On the nose, we get exceptionally ripe berry notes, mostly blue and black. On the palate, the tannins are quite present, but very smooth, while the finish is long. We get hints of vanilla, pepper, and jammy red fruit, along with bits of thyme, and oregano.

Pair these Merlots with the finest Italian food. In an ideal world, sauces should have tomatoes, but not be truly tomato-based. Consider meats of moderate weight -- lamb, large fowl, or decent-sized game -- or even seafood in a red sauce (think Cioppino, a dish native to the Italian population of San Francisco).



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