Each week I pick out one wine to highlight as my wine of the week. This wine may be an outstanding wine, a great value or just something very interesting.

Overview

Like a lot of people, I love Italian wines. The so called “Super Tuscan” wines are near the top of my list when it comes to the wines of Italy. A “Super Tuscan” is simply put, is a wine from Tuscany that uses non-traditional grapes. By non-traditional, they mean grapes not indigenous to Italy. This list of non-traditional grapes includes Merlot, Syrah and a multitude of others including in this case, Cabernet Sauvignon.

The local wine store brought this wine in several months ago and it immediately caught my eye. When they put it on sale, I had to grab a few bottles. The release price of this wine is $65, which makes my under $50 price look even better.

I see the wine is available at several web based wine stores around the country. One store even shows it available for only $45. Most stores list it at $55 to $65. A complete list is available via Wine Searcher by clicking here.

The Winery

The Castello di Bossi winery is the perfect union between innovation and tradition.

It consists of six large separate work-areas, each with separate temperature controls. Despite its size and its up-to-date facilities, it is below ground on two sides and almost invisible. The fermentation area has new temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks.

A timing program automatically controls pump-overs; the must breaks up the cap of skins by gravity flow, aided by a system of plates and chains inside the tank.

Following the alcoholic fermentation and after finishing a 20-22-day post-fermentation maceration on the skins, the wine goes unfiltered directly to barrel. There, the malic acid will be converted and they will mature for about 2 years in the barrel cellar that holds over 1,000 light-toast French oak barrels from the Allier forest. After this lengthy maturation, the wines are bottle-aged for 12 months at temperatures between 13 and18 C. Correct temperatures are crucial for us, in that the wines do not undergo filtration.

Much more on the winery’s history, the winery and the wines is available by clicking here.

I chose this picture since most wineries show you a picture

of the winery surrounded by healthy, green vines.

It’s not that often you see a picture of the vineyards covered in snow.

Personally, I love it!

2008 Castello di Bossi Corbaia Toscana IGT – $47.49

This “Super Tuscan” is a blend of 70% Sangiovese and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes for this wine are hand harvested from 35 year old vines. After a 38 day maceration and fermentation, the wine is aged for 24 months in Barrique. After bottling, the wine receives an additional 12 months of bottle aging before it is released.

The wine has 14.5% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a dark ruby red color. The stunning nose has black cherries, cassis, crushed stone minerals, leather, eucalyptus, roasted herbs, smoke, earthy underbrush and dried flowers. This has a medium to full body with moderate to solid tannins and very good acidity. On the palate waves of fruit roll in but are quickly pushed aside by eucalyptus, minerals and roasted herbs. The finish is extremely long with some earthiness and a floral note joining the party in your mouth. This is on the young side but is perfect with a juicy steak to help balance out the big tannins. Enjoy this one over the next decade or two. (95 pts)

2008 Castello di Bossi Corbaia Toscana IGT

Connect with me

You can follow me on Twitter for more wine info, potential food pairings, and an occasional recipe or two. Be warned, I’m also a sports fan and there are occasional Pittsburgh Penguins, Steelers, and Pirates tweets. I attended the University of South Carolina, so during football season, there will also be some Gamecock posts.

If you like this post, consider joining Cliffs Wine Picks Wine Blog on Facebook and giving me a Like.

Cheers!

* Shameless Self Promotion *

Here is a link to a YouTube video of me getting “coal” from Santa for being named the “Nicest Person in Social Media” in 2012.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOvQTeGR3-c

Breaking news from Klout:

Cliff’s Wine Picks mentions or other posts

Here are posts, newsletters, blogs or other articles that either mention this site or that I have written:

Click here or on the “Cliff’s Wine Picks On Other Sites” link in the top right corner to see links to other sites that either have my reviews, my thoughts or other posts I have written.

Remember to support your local wine store!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Notes – I use the “official” Cellar Tracker name for the wines. I use Cellar Tracker to help manage and organize my cellar. I highly recommend checking it out at www.cellartracker.com. Loading you existing cellar is a lot less intimidating than it would first appear. There is a good chance 99% of your wine is already in the system, so you generally only need to enter part of the wine’s name and the system will find it for you.

Prices noted are the prices I paid at the time of purchase. I don’t shop around to find the best prices, but my local store is usually VERY competitive. I generally get case discounts, and since I work there part time, I get a 5% discount. Wines purchased direct from a winery do not include any shipping charges. None of the prices include the sales tax.

All wines that were sent to me free of charge to sample will be noted and I will show suggested prices when available.