Argentiera Poggio Ai Ginepri 2007

Poggio ai Ginepri means “little hill of junipers” and refers to the juniper bushes around the Argentiera property. The Argentiera estate is part of former Tenuta di Donoratico estate, owned by the Serristori, very influential Florentine family, who were given permanent use of this land by the Medici family back in 1512.The records shows that there were silver mines (“argento” is Italian for silver) in far history on this property, therefore its current owners – brothers Corrado and Marcello Fratini named their Tenuta Argentiera.

This estate has a very unique position – it is both closest to the sea and the highest in altitude, stretching from the plains up to the hills. The spectacular view from the vineyards extends from Baratti in the south to Castiglioncello in the north, incl. the islands of the Tuscan archipelago (Elba, Corgona and Capraia, with Corsica in the background).

Not only it is well suited for the production of great red wines, it is also considered to be among the most beautiful areas in Italy.

After de-stemming and soft crushing the different grape varieties were vinified separately. Fermentation and maceration took place in stainless steel vats for 15-20 days at controlled temperature. Part of the wine was then transferred into French and Hungarian oak barrels, where malolactic fermentation was completed and the wine was aged for 8 months. The other 50% of the wine remained in stainless steel tanks for the fining and was then blended before the final bottling.

Tasting notes:
Deep ruby red color is coating the glass. Lovely earthy aroma so typical for Italian reds, with red plums, herbs and spice. Slight aroma of eucalyptus reminded me of some southern Australian Cabernet wines. Generous tannins are soft and round. I was very impressed with this atypical wine – which didn’t use the typical Tuscan’s variety Sangiovese at all. It is approachable right now, but it will also improve with a few years in the bottle.

Dry – Off dry – Medium sweet – Sweet
Light – Medium – Full body
No oak – Aged in oak
Retail price: around $ 26.00

Ideal food pairing:
Stewed meats, game, pork roasts, grilled meat, beef, steaks….