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Darryl Beeson
"Wine and More"

Coltibuono's Superb Tuscan Wines

"Badia a Coltibuono is about one thousand years old but its prehistory takes us back to Etruscan times and beyond," says Roberto Stucchi Prinetti, a member of the owning family and the property's winemaker, "As we know it today, Badia a Coltibuono, which means Abbey of the Good Harvest, dates from the middle of the eleventh century. In 1051 the monks of the Vallombrosan Order, a Tuscan reform of the Benedictines, founded the Abbey and also began planting the first vineyards in the Upper Chianti area. Over the centuries they extended their vast land holdings to include many thousands of acres and developed a flourishing wine production and commerce. In 1810, when Tuscany was under Napoleonic rule, the monks were forced to leave Coltibuono and the monastery was secularized." Now about the wines:

Coltibuono, Cancelli Sangiovese di Toscana 2000
Price $12
Rating 88
There are flavors of raspberry and hotish, dark fruit, followed by earthy and cocoa powder elements in the moderate length.

"Sangiovese is a variety of grape that changes a lot depending upon where it is planted," explains Prinetti, "Cancelli means gate, not overdone with wood, is good for everyday drinking with all manner of food." Prinetti studied winemaking in California.

Cetamura Chianti, 2000
Price $15
Rating 90
One first notices the chewy rich flavors of red fruit and briar, and then there are elements of sweet tomato and the dust of mushroom in this delicate, but complex wine. A safe match with any dish involving tomato sauce, venture out and try this wine with all kinds of fresh, uncomplicated foods.

Chianti Classico Roberto Stucchi 1999
Price $20
Rating 93

The aromas are seductive. There is blackberry, and even bits of menthol. There are flavors of of bright raspberry melded with the previous blackberry. There is mint, white pepper, mushroom dust, and other complexities along with more of the menthol note.

Coltibuono, Chianti Classico Estate, Tuscany DOCG 1999
Price $23
Rating 93
There are gripping flavors of black fruit, red fruit, with firm structural elements, tasting like tree bark and mushroom. Bright notes and bitter hints are wrapped within beautiful, ripened fruit. This wine deserves examination with fine food, such as grilled meat in an elegant sauce. "These wines are made in a more classic method, using large wooden casks," explains Prinetti, "We use gravity rather than pumps, to avoid rough handling of the wine."

"Many visitors travel to Badia a Coltibuono, not only because of the splendid architecture, but also for the beauty of the surrounding forests of pine, fir, oak and chestnut," boasts Prinetti, "Of the almost 2500 acres that make up the estate, nearly 2000 are forest." For more information, go to www.coltibuono.com.

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