Here’s another Italian ‘hot take’ from SommSelect Editorial Director David Lynch, today making the case for Cabernet Sauvignon from Tuscany.
Today’s wine is a serious Cabernet Sauvignon, at an incredibly reasonable price, with a bit of bottle age to boot. It isn’t, however, from one of the ‘usual suspect’ Cabernet Sauvignon terroirs—Bordeaux, Napa, not even Chile—and therefore may need a push to get it over the hill. Then again, this is Cabernet from Tuscany—hardly unfamiliar territory for the variety, as iconic wines such as “Sassicaia,” “Solaia,” and “Sammarco” have long demonstrated. I mention both “Solaia” and “Sammarco” (the latter made by Castello di Rampolla) because both these famous ‘super-Tuscans,’ like today’s 2011 from San Fabiano Calcinaia, are grown in Chianti Classico. Yes, Chianti Classico—a terroir many experts and collectors stubbornly refuse to accept as world-class. In addition to the doubters, there are Italian wine purists who’d prefer the Chiantigiani stick to Sangiovese and rip out any offending “international” grapes. I tend to prefer keeping Sangiovese and Cabernet separate myself, but it is hard to argue with what Cabernet can achieve on its own in Tuscany. What struck me most about San Fabiano Calcinaia’s bottling is how resolutely “Tuscan” it is—brooding, savory, and, as I say so often when discussing Tuscan reds, woodsy. In terms of varietal character, there’s no mistaking it for anything but Cabernet Sauvignon, but there’s also no mistaking it for Bordeaux or Napa, either. It’s an authentic, small-production super-Tuscan with the structure to keep aging for a decade-plus, but it’s priced like “commodity” wine. Do I need to say more? Do not pass this up.
The fact is, Cabernet Sauvignon does well in lots of places around the world, because it’s noble and it’s hardy. Furthermore, Tuscany has a history with the grape going back hundreds of years; no doubt plantings have surged since “Sassicaia” debuted in the late-1960s, but both Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc factored into the blending formula in Tuscany’s Carmignano appellation as far back as the 18th century. And in Chianti Classico, home not just to “Solaia” but to “Tignanello” as well, Cabernet takes on a perfumed, linear personality, with a rigid mineral backbone that speaks to the rocky limestone-rich marl soils of the zone.
The San Fabiano Calcinaia estate was once a tiny medieval village, or borgo, just outside Castellina in Chianti at the southern end of the Chianti Classico region. Situated between 300 and 500 meters elevations, the estate’s vineyards extend across 42 hectares on steep, limestone-rich slopes. Calcina translates as “lime mortar” in Italian, and there’s certainly plenty of that holding the old stone walls together; the -aia part is a common suffix in Tuscany, added to words as ‘-y’ or ‘-ey’ would be to English words (sasso means “stone”; sassicaia means “stony”).
Having recently made the conversion to organic viticulture, San Fabiano owner Guido Serio (who first acquired the property in 1983) works with top Tuscan consultant Carlo Ferrini to craft this Cabernet, which is labeled with the ‘Toscana’ IGT, or Indicazione Geografica Tipica. It is sourced from 8.5 hectares in San Fabiano and comprised of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot aged in first- and second-pass French oak barriques for 18-20 months. It then spends another 12 months aging in bottle before release.
In the glass, the 2011 is a nearly opaque, blackish ruby with magenta highlights at the rim. The aromas are a deep and brooding mix of black cherry, black currant, cassis, damp violets, tobacco, gunflint, pencil lead, and lots of underbrush/cured wood. It is full-bodied and powerfully structured, with lots of mineral savor and tannins that still have some softening to do; if enjoying a bottle now, decant it at least an hour before serving at 60 degrees in large Bordeaux stems, but be sure to lay a few bottles down as well. It still has at least a decade in the tank, which is saying something when you’re talking about a $24 wine—pair its meaty, smoky savor with a nice rare steak and you might as well be at an
osteria in Siena or Florence enjoying the real thing. This is a lot of wine—repeat, a lot of wine—at this price. Enjoy it!
— D.L.
