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What We Say 2007 Brunato il Cocco - Super Tuscan
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Today’s Super Tuscan selection is not only an exceptional recession busting QPR wine, but is also exclusively available through The Wine Spies.
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Mission Codename: You say Brunato, I say Brunato…
Operative: Agent White
Objective: Secure an exclusive and value oriented Super Tuscan for our operatives.
Mission Status: Accomplished!
Current Winery: Podere il Cocco
Wine Subject: 2007 Brunato il Cocco, Montalcino – Super Tuscan
Winemaker: Mirco Bindo
Backgrounder:
Broadly, wines designated as Indicazione Geographica Tipica (IGT) could be considered vin de pays. Tack on the designation Rosso Toscana and you are talking about a broad category of wines often times called Super Tuscans. Most of these wines are Sangiovese based with the addition of other varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and all are unique blends that gives the winery much more flexibility with regard to the more stringent Goria DOC and DOCG designations.
Today’s selection is 100% Sangiovese grapes from the famed Montalcino region. In addition, the wines from Podere il Cocco are produced using organic and bio-dynamic farming methods resulting in fruit of exceptional quality and flavor character. This wine was aged for 6 months in stainless steel tanks. The resulting wine truly highlights the purity of the fruit.
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Deep ruby with garnet hues and a deep dark, but clear core. Lighter ruby edges and slow thin legs grace the edge of the glass when swirled.
Smell – Immediately upon opening this wine you are hit with bold aromas of wild black and red fruit with a unique sweet and ripe quality. Touches of licorice and floral components also emerge.
Feel – Smooth and dry with a slightly tart, but easy acidity. Medium tannins and a touch of minerality round out the texture of this medium bodied wine.
Taste – Flavors of wild ripe blackberry, red currant, sweet cranberry and raspberry with a slight dusty characteristic that reminds us of being out in the fields. Hints of smokiness and tar are also layered over a touch of licorice.
Finish – This wine finishes medium in length with lingering aromas and flavors of its fruit.
Conclusion – The 2007 Brunato il Cocco Rosso Toscana is a wine that truly highlights its Sangiovese grapes. Unobstructed by a rigorous oak regimen combined with its organic beginnings results in a wine of simple purity. Not complex, but delicious none the less, this wine is perfect for everyday drinking and at the price its a wine you can afford to drink everyday. Enjoy this wine with simple home-style spaghetti or to class up delivery pizza.
Mission Report:
Agent Baco Noir had been hard at work, when I met up with her in Siena I could tell she was tired of being in the field for such an extended tour of duty. Not that she was complaining, drinking the finest wines from Italy, but sometimes you need a break. We couldn’t afford to let up for a single moment though. The evil cadre of O.D.S.W. (Only Drink Supermarket Wines) were constantly trying to foil our exploits and force the us to drink a world of boring mass produced flavorless wines.
I knew the perfect way to rejuvenate Baco. A short visit to a small farm with an exceptional view. Don’t tell Agent Blush as she may get jealous, but Baco needed some ‘girl time’. perfect place, a high peak in the Montalcino region with a view of the sea, a bottle of wine and just some quite time to enjoy it.
The perfect location? The farm at Podere il Cocco. I had made arrangements with the winery to visit the vineyards but this was going to be an easy trip. Upon arriving a note was left at the door with a small hand drawn map on it. We followed the map to the top of the hill behind the 200 year old farm-house and stables that had been converted to wine cellar.
Upon reaching the idea spot with a view of the famed Montalcino region, I noticed that Mirco Bindo, the owner and winemaker, had set up a small picnic blanket with a couple glasses and some simple but amazingly delicious Tuscan snacks.
Sitting there, drinking the 2007 Brunato il Cocco and taking a couple hour vacation from the world is exactly what the doctor had ordered.
Wine Spies Vineyard Check:
The location of the Podere il Cocco farm can be seen in this satellite photo.
What the Winery Says
Podere Il Cocco
About This Wine:
Wine of the year bottled after 6 months from the harvest and aged in steel tanks, 100% Sangiovese.
The Brunato is born from our will to produce a wine of excellent quality at a reduced price. A wine that can complement meals like in the times of country folk, where the wine is not only pleasure but also nutrition. The grapes are cultivated in registered vineyards in the D.O.C St. Antimo di Montalcino, in the Podere Cocco, according to a biological agriculture and a classic vineyard density. Depending on the vintage and the requests of the market, the Sangiovese grapes are integrated with a small amount of Cabernet, in order to obtain a crisp wine, genuine, with vivid flavors and pleasant scents. The grapes that produce the Brunato are harvested at the same time as the ones that are used to produce our Brunello, following a fermentation and subse-quent refinement of approximately 5 months in steel tanks. The bottling is carried out in April and the annual production is of 3000 bottles of 0,750 lt. and half bottles called ‘Cocchino’, to satisfy the demands of restaurants and occasional drinkers.
About The Farm:
The farm ‘il Cocco’ is on the top of the highest hill of Montalcino and covers about 10 hectares, 3 of which are specialized in the production of Brunello wine and 3 in olive groves.
The vineyard was already existing at the beginning of 1800 when the Bindi family became the owner.
The Orcia’s valley and Ombrone river surround the farm and it’s possible to see the Mediterranean sea and sell the brackish wine that give a unique taste to the wines.
Certified Organic Process:
3 hectares of vineyards cultivated with biological methods, without the use of weed removers or chemical fertilizers, produce the wines BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO, ROSSO DI MONTALCINO and the Rosso Toscano BRUNATO & D.O.C. ORCIA. After the vinification of the grapes which takes place in the ancient stables, the wine matures and evolves in big oak barrels, to be sa-vored every day as well as on special occasions.
The vines of Cocco already existed in the 1800’s. The production of Brunello began in 2002 with a small quantity of grapes.
The Sangiovese varietal matures towards the end of September – beginning of October. The wine ferments and refines during the winter months and at the coming of spring is ready to begin the aging process of the Brunello, or to be immediately enjoyed as an every day wine.
The view above the vineyard of the farm.
