I think I bought this bottle at the Consorzio in Siena. Pretty good prices there - I had remembered the shop from a month spent in Siena in August 1998 when Ellen had a summer semester for Architecture school. I know this producer and have enjoyed their wines before. The wine was a beautiful color in the glass - clear ruby to sapphire. I could't get much of the nose. A little light and thin in the mouth. Complex, refined flavors, cherries dominate but the fruit lags behind a bit - after it was open for a couple of hours there was a hint of juniper berry but it was fleeting. It did go well with the pork roast we had with it, but the alcohol prevailed too much for me overall. This wine spends 24 months in casks of French and Austrian oak of varying sizes, followed by a period of at least four months in the bottle before release. A nice wine but I wouldn't search it out again before trying others. About $30 US a bottle. Here is the Badia a Coltibuono website.

(This review was originally published in 2006)

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