chianti colli fiorentini corzano e paterno 2006
ByVibrant Chianti made from Sangiovese grown on a 27-hectare estate located on the hills of San Pancrazio ( a tiny village south of Florence), where century-old olive trees intermingle with beautifully tended vines in one of the most captivating settings in the region.
The judicious use of a mix of old and new oak barrels gives supple, beautifully structured Chianti that is one of the best in the Colli Fiorentini. Aljoscha Goldschmidt is a brilliant viticoltore, relentless in his belief in “typicity,” and his love for his adopted homeland.
Regional History
Tuscany’s influence on viticulture has been profound and indelible. Etruscan artifacts and the fossilized remains of indigenous vinifera rootstock indicate an advanced wine culture as far back as 800 BC. Their methods profoundly influenced the Romans, whose tenacity spread them throughout most of the Mediterranean and as far north as the Rhine.
Rome’s penchant for agricultural inventiveness refined the Etruscan techniques (mostly how vines were best pruned and trained) and set the stage for succeeding developments in the wine trade.
The Rinaiscimento brought to prominence many of the noble Tuscan families; Antinori, Ricasoli, and Ruffino became symbols of Tuscany’s political and economic importance and were responsible in good part for the expansion of trade and increased respect for Florence’s wines. References to Chianti as a wine from a particular place appear in the trading documents of Francesco Datini in the fourteenth century, but its present boundaries were not defined until Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, issued an edict in 1716. The same boundaries still define Chianti “Classico” today. Chianti Colli Fiorentini nearly surrounds the Classico zone.
Regional Foods
Tuscany is perhaps the quintessential Italian landscape. Its gentle, rolling hills are graced with fields of sunflowers, grapevines, and olive orchards. The region’s beautiful hill towns still mesmerize travelers with the promise of an extraordinary meal.
The Chianina cattle, (used in the famous bistecca alla Fiorentina), chickens known as Livornesi, rabbit, wild boar, pigeon and woodcock are all raised or farmed in the region.
But olive oil is what makes Tuscan food so unmistakably Tuscan. Rather than a dressing, the oil is the basis for nearly every dish. Food is sauteed and fried in it, soups are finished benedette – given a last-minute benediction by spooning oil into them – and every vegetable is made tastier with a couple of tablespoons of local olive oil.
© 2008 Moore Brothers Wine Company