When you buy a Brunello, a Chianti, or a Vino Nobile Montepulciano, you have some idea about what the aroma and flavor in the bottle will be. Hundreds of years of tradition and regulations have defined the styles coming from those regions. Not all winemakers in Tuscany want to be constrained by rules and regulations, even if those constraints help to produce world-class wine. So they go a bit rogue, choosing to produce wines outside the norm. Giovanni Bulgari is one of those winemakers.
For the 2018 Podernuovo a Palazzone Therra Toscana Rosso IGT, the winemaker blends Montepulciano, Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot to create a wine that’s “linear and sophisticated,” according to James Suckling. His 92-point score also comes with the tasting notes that the wine is “medium-to-full-bodied with bright acidity and firm, racy tannins.” Bulgari is from the same Bulgari family that makes luxury watches and jewelry. The family also owns a lovely five-star hotel in Milan. While Giovanni chooses to make wine instead of watches, he brings with him the “make it excellent” ethos that his family name demands.
“I wanted to create elegant wines respecting the diversity of their character: the common denominator among them is elegance, in harmony and in respect of their soil. The vines and their soil have specific needs, which must be interpreted and respected in order to obtain the best wines,” says Bulgari.
He achieves his goal of respect in a modern wine cellar that uses geothermal heating and cooling plus solar power to minimize the carbon footprint of the operations.
The vineyards are located in the southern tip of Tuscany where the summers are hot, the winters are freezing, and the springs and autumns are mild—ideal conditions for the vines to ripen. The clay, limestone, sandstone, and fossil soils, combined with the altitude of the vineyards, provide structure and elegance to the wine. The grapes remain the same with each vintage but their percentage changes to invoke the best each vintage has to offer.
The result is a beautiful Tuscan red with hints of wild berries and blueberries with smoked and toasted final notes. This wine has incredible depth, color, and concentration of figs, plums, and blackberries. The palate is exuberant with lively tannins and intense fruit and very persistent. Italian wine expert Antonio Galloni declared the Tuscan wines from the 2018 vintage “gorgeous,” and that’s certainly true for this wine.
You can pay a lot more for IGT red blends from this part of the world, up to $150+. This wine is a fraction of that price and an exceptional deal—we’re offering it for 25% off! We have the Lowest Price Anywhere on this modern, linear, and sophisticated Tuscan red blend that’s as world-class as many of the more traditional wines coming from the region. If you like Bordeaux blends and Super Tuscans blends in general, you’ll love the quality and value of this wine from this storied family.
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