Fabio Motta ‘Pievi’ Bolgheri Rosso DOC 2019
Background
Super Tuscans! We couldn’t do a Tuscany pack without touching on the idea of so-called ‘Super Tuscans’. This is a big, long story. The Coles Notes version goes something like this: in the middle part of the last century, some enterprising young Tuscan winemakers travelled to Bordeaux in France to learn about their wines. These young Italians fell in love with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon and brought these grapes to Maremma, on the western coast of Tuscany. Along with the Bordeaux grapes, they also began to experiment with the longer extractions and longer barrel aging that was popular in Bordeaux at the time. Sassicaia (the first of these ‘Super Tuscans’) was released in 1968 and KA-BOOM!, it took the world by storm.
Bordeaux style wine made in Tuscany, using a blend of French and Italian grapes meant that the wine didn’t fit into the existing Italian wine laws. The wine would have to be ‘de-classified’ and released under the less prestigious IGT designation. Today the wines are so popular that in special circumstances wine laws were changed to accommodate them. Bolgheri, where this wine is from, even has a special sub-region all it’s own that contains the Sassicaia estate.
It makes sense that Bordeaux grapes would do well here in Maremma, as both have very similar terroir. Both were swampy malarial marshes until they were drained (Bordeaux by the Dutch in the 1600s, Maremma by Moussillini in the 1930s). Both have sandy clay soils. Both are low elevation, with saltwater to the west. The major difference would be the amount of moisture and sunlight. Bordeaux can be a little grey and wet, and Maremma a little warmer and drier.
Tasting Notes
Fabio Motta sells his production as being having extremely little human intervention. Along with having a comfortable growing season, this wine is fermented in small French barrels (small vessels=more contact with the wood) and gets a full year of aging before it’s released. Part of what makes Bordeaux wine special is its ability to age. The Pievi has all of those same characteristics, but being mostly Merlot, it’s a little rounder and more fruit forward. We think that makes it immediately enjoyable, but also a good option to lay down in the cellar for a few years.
Food Pairing
Lamb Ragu - The combination of ripeness and wood and herbal flavours gives this wine a nice complexity. And since we always like to pair complet with complex we think this wine would be a great choice to go with a rich meaty ragu. The kind that’s been slowly bubbling away on the stove all afternoon. There is a pronounced iron minerality that we think will go particularly well with the heavier meaty flavours of beef and lamb.