WINE - Badia a Coltibuono

Last month I had the privilege to taste seven wines from this illustrious estate. Badia a Coltibuono has a 1000 year history of Tuscan wine production and today a 900+ ha estate comprising of 70 ha of vines and 18 ha of olive oil production. The estate's style is a bridge between the new and classic Chianti wines styles. Forward thinking in viticulture/viniculture but with a 150 year one family, Stucchi Prinetti , devotion to Sangiovese. The Sangiovese grape accounts for more than 80% of the family's estate plantings.

Detailed information on the wines and estate itself are available at:http://www.coltibuono.com/ prices are in Canadian dollars and most wines are not available in the BC market at this time.

TASTING NOTES:

Cancelli Rosso Toscano IGT 2007 approx $21
Ruby red with aromas of red Cherry and black pepper.
Light-bodied and soft with lush ripe fruit and notes of pepper and earth. Easy drinking red. 70% Sangiovese and 30% Syrah.

RS Chianti Classico 2006 $23.95
Cherry red colour and aromas of cherry and herbs. Medium-bodied with soft tannins and good acidity and lush red cherry, plum, pepper, and savoury herb flavours. Multi-grower blend with approximately three months inf French Allier oak.

Badia a Coltibuono Chianti Classico 2006 approx $36
Ruby red with aromas of cherry, tobacco, and violets. Medium-bodied, good concentration and chewy tannins and flavours of cherry, leather, earth. Good complexity. Organic

Badia a Coltibuono Chianti Classico Riserva 2005 approx. $70
Cherry red with a complex nose of smoke, mineral, cherry, and flowers.
Full-bodied, chewy tannins, complex and layered with spice, vanilla, tea, and leather. Organic, 90% Sangiovese, 24 months in French & Austrian oak.

Cultus Boni Chianti Classico 2004 approx. $47
Ruby red with good depth and amazing fresh liquorice aromas with hints of cedar and chocolate. Full-bodied, lush, and round, chewy tannins and flavours of liquorice, chocolate, cherry, and tea. 80% Sangiovese and 5% Merlot.

Sangioveto 2004 IGT approx. $80
Ruby purple with aromas of violets, spice, red currant aromas. Full-bodied, rich, but with soft tannins and flavours of tobacco, chocolate, violets, and cherry. Not super complex compared to other vintages. Organic, 100% Sangiovese, 12 months French oak, 25% new.

Vin Santo del Chianti Classico 2003 375ml $41.99
Amber gold with honeyed nut aromas. Full-bodied and concentrated with sweet barley sugar, dried apricot, and honeyed nut flavours. 50% Trebbiano, 50% Malvasia, 4 years mixed cask/oak ageing.

BEER - Rogue Craft Brewery 3 Beers

I've always been an advocate of fine wine and also of great craft and micro brewed beers. This Easter weekend's cooking was delayed by a trying a series of three beers from Oregon's Rogue Brewery. http://www.rogue.com/index.php This Newport brewery was established in 1988 by three partners with the premise of making fine microbrewery beers that are made for "food and beer pairing" using no pasturisation, no preservatives and all natural ingredients. Being PNW Pacific Northwest based Rogue also has the benefit of using locally sourced malts and hops. Their 'Pacman" proprietary "wild yeast" gives the beers a distinct flavour and body profile. All beer were tasted from 650ml (22 US ounce) bottles.

Juniper Pale Ale

Malts: Northwest Harrington, Crystal, Triumph, Maier Munich & C-15. Hops: Styrian Golding & Amarillo. Straw gold colour with light carbonation and little lacing. Aromas of subtle flowers and malts. On the palate is its medium-bodied, smooth, some bitterness, very mild almost non-existent juniper flavours. My least favourite of the flight but have been brought up with juniper encrusted and sauced game dishes and summer G&T's the lack of a "British" palate of intense juniper gives it a slightly lower thumbs up. Still enjoyable and good beer with venison sausages, white bird meats, and trout.

Yellow Snow IPA

Malts: Two Row Pale, Cara Foam & Melanoiden.
Hops: Amarillo. Yellow gold colour with good carbonation and lacing. Complex nose of citrusy hops, pine, and apple. Medium-bodied, dry, and crisp with typical IPA flavours, not too bitter, but refreshing with lemon, grapefruit, and subtle pepper flavours. Try this one with a tandoori, grilled fish and white meats, and spicy BBQ sausages.

Chipolte Ale

Malts: Harrington, Klages & Maier Munich.
Hops: Cascade and Willamette. One of my Rogue favourites! Golden mahogany colour with malty, pepper, and subtle smokey aromas. Medium-bodied, creamy textured with nice balance of hops, malt, and chipolte. Intriguing to drink, the lovely smokey peppery notes, kick in about 5-8 seconds after swallowing. Try this one with BBQ red meats, bison burgers with blue cheese, Tex-Mex cuisine, and for a real but very tasty shocker! dark chocolate.