Il Palazzone is a small producer (8,000 – 12,000 bottles per year) of the prestigious Brunello di Montalcino DOCG wine. Every year a small quantity of wine is left in the cellar. We blend this “loose” wine and make a Vino Rosso. Since it derives from several vintages, it has no vintage listed on the bottle. The grapes used to make the Vino Rosso all qualified as Brunello di Montalcino under the strict DOCG reg-ulations, though we chose to declassify them to produce this Vino Rosso. All the component wines have spent over a year in large wood barrels, resulting in a “baby” Brunello, with all the characteristics of Montalcino and Sangiovese, but with the fruit, freshness and approachability of a Rosso di Montalcino. The Rosso del Palazzone has been described by Jancis Robinson, MW as “an honest pleasurable message in the bottle from Tuscany.”
| Taste: | Warm, dry, generous and well-balanced. Bright, fresh acidity with depth and Montalcino character. Great length and persistence. |
| Color: | Intense ruby red |
| Nose: | Full and persistent with lifted floral notes, followed by berry fruits and a hint of forest floor. Typical Sangiovese aromas, redolent of Montalcino |
| Grape varietal: | 100% Sangiovese Grosso, known in Montalcino as “Brunello” |
| Composition | Equal parts 2007, 2008 and 2009 Brunello grapes, declassified from the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG appellation |
| Total production: | 10,200 ~ 0.75 liter bottles |
| Bottled: | February 14, 2011 (Valentine’s Day), in ecological, lightweight bottles |
| Alcohol per volume % : | 13.5 |
The vineyards at Il Palazzone are less than 7 acres in area and are all planted with Sangiovese Grosso, the grape known in Montalcino as “Brunello.”
Vineyards: The estate has three separate vineyards in quite different areas of Montalcino, each bringing different aspects of Montalcino to our wine.
Le Due Porte – Northwest facing vineyard with marl and alberese soil, at a high altitude which provides excellent ventilation and an extreme day/night thermal excursion good for producing aromatics
La Vigna del Capa – Lower altitude and south facing, with older vines and the site of discovered marine fossils, providing saline mineral notes
La Vigna Vecchia – Lower altitude and south facing, with older vines and soil with a high minerality of iron, magnesium and manganese
| Yields: | 5,000 kg per hectare, a result of several green harvests and selection in the vineyard |
| Grapes: | All grapes in the Rosso del Palazzone were cared for and held to the same regulations as if they were destined to become Brunello. During the aging process, we declassified them to create the Vino Rosso blend. The grapes are picked by hand before long maceration in temperature controlled stainless steel, usually at the beginning of October. The component wines have spent 10-24 months in large Slavonian oak barrels. |
This versatile wine is an excellent wine “a tutto pasto”, i.e. suited to all courses, in particular vegetable soup, cheese and first and second courses featuring red meat.
Tortelli maremmani di ricotta e spinaci al tartufo bianco
Spinaci and ricotta tortelli with white truffle
Pair with Il Palazzone Rosso del Palazzone
Recipe by Roberto Rossi, Chef at acclaimed restaurant Il Silene, Seggiano, Italy
http://www.ilsilene.it/EN/persone.html
Serves 8 people (total of approximately 40 tortelli)
INGREDIENTS
For the pasta
4 eggs
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 cups flour
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 2/3 teaspoon salt
For the tortelli filling
2½ cups sheep’s milk ricotta
8 ounces fresh spinach, cut small
5 ounces fresh chard, cut small
2 eggs
1½ cup grated parmesan
2 tsp grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt
For the dressing
½ cup melted butter
2 ½ cups grated parmesan
1 ¼ cup shaved white truffle
To prepare the dough:
Sift the flour into a flat surface, forming a volcano like structure with a dip in the middle. Break the eggs into the dip, and add the oil and salt. Mix everything together to get a soft ball of dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
To prepare the tortelli:
After the dough has chilled, roll the pasta into thin sheets with a rolling pin. Cut the sheet into long strips, about 2 inches wide, and spoon the filling onto the strips (on the edge closest to you, not in the middle of the strip). Fold the pasta in half and press the outsides of the tortello by hand to seal it. Trim the border of the tortello with a pasta cutter or a knife.
To serve:
Boil the tortelli in generously salted water to cook, until they start to float. Place five tortelli on each plate, and drizzle with the melted butter, the freshly grated parmesan and the shaved slices of white truffle.
ROBERTO ROSSI
Loc. Pescina 58038
Seggiano, Grosseto, Italy
tel +39 0564 950 805
fax +39 0564 950 553
info@ilsilene.it
www.ilsilene.it
Rosso del Palazzone NV Vino da Tavola is in effect a baby Brunello di Montalcino at a fraction of the price of the real thing. Because it’s a blend of Sangiovese from the highly successful 2006 and 2007 vintages, it has to be described as a table wine and foregoes the right to a vintage date on the label but it is what Il Palazzone produce instead of a Rosso di Montalcino. The blend I tasted is known as 01/08, the second version, but a third version, based on 2008, will probably be launched in January 2010.
The Gambero Rosso guide admits that quality has increased since New York banker Richard Parsons bought this small estate with its mere three hectares of vineyards in 2000. I was impressed by their Brunello di Montalcino 2001, giving it 17 points out of 20, and their current vintage also stood out in my extensive tasting of 2004 Brunellos in Verona in Italy. (I’ll be publishing my tasting notes very soon.)
It is pure Sangiovese with a hint of the warmth of this corner of south- eastern Tuscany – much lusher than the average Chianti – but without any excesses of oak or alcohol. The wines, made with oenologist Paolo Vagaggini, are aged in varying sizes of cask. I would happily drink this any time over the next two years and would pat myself on the back for having found such an honest, pleasurable message in a bottle from Tuscany. It keeps well in an opened bottle for several days, by the way (a good sign that it
migrated from tasting to dining table in my house). This wine won a bronze medal in the recent Decanter World Wine Awards, but I’m sure they didn’t make any connection with head office, however tangential nowadays.
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