Back in 2001, three individuals -- Lidia Bastianich, Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali -- founded La Mozza, a vineyard located in the Maremma region of Tuscany, Italy. The vineyard, which has about 100 acres is near Scansano, southwest of Montalcino and just ten miles from the shores of the Tyhrrenian Sea. This triumvirate of food and wine leaders choose the Maremma region because it sits outside of the DOC and DOCG regions in Italy. (For more about DOC and DOCG, check out my review of the Frescobaldi Nipozzano Reserva.) In Mario Batali's view, this location provides the vineyard to be more flexible and creative with the wines, particularly when it comes to incorporating grapes other than Sangiovese grapes. La Mozza expresses that creativity by incorporating other Mediterranean grapes, such as Alicante, Petit Verdot and Syrah grapes.
La Mozza's Aragone is a blend of those Mediterranean grapes. The exact breakdown of the grapes is 40% Sangiovese, 25% Alicante, 25% Syrah and 10% Carignan. Indigenous yeasts are used during the fermentation process, which is followed by aging in tonneaux.
The wine pours a nice cherry red. There is a lot of fruit on the bouquet of the wine, such as cherries and raspberries and, maybe, a little plum. Those fruit also are very prominent in the taste of the wine as you drink it.
The name "Aragone" is a tribute to the Aragons of Spain, who, along with the Medici family of Florence, ruled over the Maremma region. The label represents an aerial view of Fort Stella, a military fort built by the Aragons in the 15th century in Port Ercole.
This is one of the best Italian wines that I have had. It is very drinkable, which means that before you know it you have gone through the glass and you are looking for the bottle to get a re-fill. The wine sells for $40.00 per bottle. This wine was available at VinoMatique in Berea, Ohio, but, unfortunately, it had to close its doors. Once again, I will miss that wine store, but I am grateful for being able to purchase the wine from VinoMatique when I had the chance.
Moreover, only 1,200 cases of Aragone are produced per year. So, if you have been as fortunate as me to find this wine, buy it immediately. You will not be disappointed!
ENJOY!
For more information, check out Mario Batali's website or Bastianich Winery.
2 comments:
Hi Keith-
Thanks so much for the kind words about Aragone. It's a really special wine for us and we notice that as the vineyards mature each year the wine just gets better and better!
The 2007 has been released and it's awesome! If you have trouble finding it, please let me know.
I should be thanking you for producing such a great wine. I will definitely keep you in mind if I can't find the Aragone or any other Bastianich wine. Thank you for reading my blog.
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