Well-Aged Italian Wine Delivers Finesse

Silvio Nardi made agricultural equipment and decided one day that he wanted to do more with the land than provide the tools to till it.  He bought a vineyard in 1950 as a hobby.  That hobby is now his wine company, which is run these days by his daughter, Emilia, and her brothers.

The 2007 Silvio Nardi Rosso di Montalcino was made from grapes grown in the two Nardi vineyards in the Montalcino area of Tuscany.  Nardi claims that the two estates feature completely different soils and growing conditions, and that the grapes from Casale del Bosco provide the wine's elegance and complexity, while the fruit of Manachiara takes care of structure and power.  It is a full varietal Sangiovese wine.  The grapes were destemmed before pressing and the wine was aged for 12 months in new and used oak.  Alcohol hits about 12.5% abv and it sold for somewhere between $20 and $30 a decade ago when it was purchased.

This wine is 12 years old now, and it is almost brown, with garnet only at the core.  The nose is amazing, showing dried cherry, leather and black olive aromas.  The palate is savory and lithe, with a nutty trace and tannins which are no longer youthful but still firm.  It is still a good wine to pair with a steak or Bolognese sauce, maybe a rib roast.


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