2006 Rigoloccio Maremma Toscana Cabernet e Alicante

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  3/28/2008, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (RIGOLOCCIO (rouge)) Friday SPECIAL Dear Friends, I offered the white wine last night so what about the new red? A Friday SPECIAL is in order for this one. Rigoloccio produced one of my wines of the year in 2007, the 2005 Il Sorvegliante (the mine guardian), a blend of mostly Sangiovese grown on soil directly above an abandoned mineral mine - one of the secrets to its success. As the rootstock dug deeper, the tips made their way through crushed stone and pure ore, left there by the prospectors long ago. Think California gold rush meets Le Pupille and it would be something like this incredible new source - one of the Maremma’s most promising and a vineyard site that cannot be duplicated no matter how hard others try. Abandoned mines are not a dime a dozen, especially with near-perfect exposure above the Tyrrhenian Sea in the vicinity of Bolgheri and Sassicaia. So what happens when a small amount of Alicante is discovered growing wild in the highest spot in the vineyard? You make a wine to highlight its pepper and spice and blend in a secret amount of what this area does best, Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc, to make the wine really stand out. That’s exactly what they’ve done at Rigoloccio and this wine furthers the belief that this is one of Italy’s most exciting new entities. This wine doesn’t even have a name yet - I didn’t care or want to wait to offer it until they named it (it will be gone). We'll just call it “the 2006” but the benefits of being on the ground running have led to first dibs on this delicious bargain achievement. Grown on the same abandoned mineral mine as the Sorvegliante, this Alicante-based wine is one of the best buys of the young year and it gives a sneak peak at a vintage that is going to generate incredible buzz over the next few years. It highlights the 2006 vintage in Tuscany, one with a similar promise to 1982 and probably the best vintage since 1990 (Tuscany’s 2006 vintage has a similar hype to 2004 in Barolo). Something tells me such low price wines from the vintage will not be the norm. The 2006 Rigoloccio is silky, almost Burgundian in red fruit texture and lovely in every respect. It is medium weight at its finest with beautiful levels of ripe fruit, sifted tannin and minerality woven together in a sap-laden bottle of wine that that is always held in check by low alcohol (12.5-13.5%), mostly old wood and a decided restraint instead of over extraction and massive amounts of new oak. Those of you that continue to yearn for the 2001 Aia Vecchia Lagone, a wine that has never been duplicated since that one-off vintage, may have found a new friend with this wine. A terrific bargain and one that should cost at least $20-30 (or may, when they finally give it a name). We have first dibs on this wine - I will allow up to 24/person until they tell me to stop taking order requests. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for those that yearn for the best wines without being whacked in the head by over-done nonsense, alcohol and flash. Do not purchase if you are expecting a big, overly tannic wine. ONE PARCEL ONLY at this price directly form the source with perfect provenance 2006 Rigoloccio (Alicante/Cabernet/Franc) Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Italy4179