About this WINE
Caiarossa, Tuscany
Caiarossa, situated in the heart of the Val di Cecina, on the Tuscan coast. The winery was founded in 1998 and it was eventually acquired in 2004 by Eric Albada Jelgersma, a Dutch entrepreneur with a great passion for wine and also the owner of Château Giscours and Château du Tertre - two Grand Crus classé in Margaux, Bordeaux.
From the beginning of 1998, an effort was made to discover the potential of this terrain through careful geological analysis. The results revealed an extremely varied soil. This diversity led to the definition of 12 vineyard lots, depending on the soil type, which were then planted with the most suitable grape varieties.
Biodynamics reign in the vineyard and there are currently 11 grape varieties planted: Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre for the reds; Chardonnay, Viognier and Petit Manseng for the whites.
There are currently two Caiarossa wines, both IGT Tuscan reds, with the first year being 2002. The top wine is Caiarossa (a cuvée of the best grapes of the year), the second wine is Pergolaia, and is predominantely Sangiovese, in keeping with the region's winemaking tradition.
The wines are allowed to age in a mixture of barriques, tonneaux and large oak casks. Only a small percentage (35%) of new oak is used for Caiarossa, whilst Pergolaia ages in two years old barriques. The idea is not to hide the personality of the wine behind wood, but rather, to let it express its natural characteristics and flavours.
Sangiovese & Merlot
Sangiovese and Merlot blends are especially common in the wine region of Tuscany, where they represent a modern twist of the Chianti blend under the Toscana IGT. This blend is also finding its feet in Australia and Claifornia.
Sangiovese
A black grape widely grown in Central Italy and the main component of Chianti and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano as well as being the sole permitted grape for the famed Brunello di Montalcino.
It is a high yielding, late ripening grape that performs best on well-drained calcareous soils on south-facing hillsides. For years it was blighted by poor clonal selection and massive overcropping - however since the 1980s the quality of Sangiovese-based wines has rocketed upwards and they are now some of the most sought after in the world.
It produces wines with pronounced tannins and acidity, though not always with great depth of colour, and its character can vary from farmyard/leather nuances through to essence of red cherries and plums
Merlot
The most widely planted grape in Bordeaux and a grape that has been on a relentless expansion drive throughout the world in the last decade. Merlot is adaptable to most soils and is relatively simple to cultivate. It is a vigorous naturally high yielding grape that requires savage pruning - over-cropped Merlot-based wines are dilute and bland. It is also vital to pick at optimum ripeness as Merlot can quickly lose its varietal characteristics if harvested overripe.
In St Emilion and Pomerol it withstands the moist clay rich soils far better than Cabernet grapes, and at it best produces opulently rich, plummy clarets with succulent fruitcake-like nuances. Le Pin, Pétrus and Clinet are examples of hedonistically rich Merlot wines at their very best. It also plays a key supporting role in filling out the middle palate of the Cabernet-dominated wines of the Médoc and Graves.
Merlot is now grown in virtually all wine growing countries and is particularly successful in California, Chile and Northern Italy.
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Description
Notes from all of the constituent parts are there on the nose, with the Cabernet, Merlot and Sangiovese all lending something to the bouquet. Its Bordeaux pedigree comes through loud and clear on the palate. Plenty of ripe, red fruit from the Merlot and ripe, black fruit from the Cabernet dominate the palate, where they are rounded out and brought into balance by the crisp acidity from the Sangiovese. This is a FrancoItalian delight.
A couple of years ago, Frenchman Dominique Génot was airlifted out of his comfort zone to realise the potential of this new estate located in the Maremma zone of Tuscany. His greatest challenge seems to have been identifying and vinifying the 11 grape varieties that are planted on 12 different soil types throughout the estate. By applying lessons learned in Bordeaux at Ch. du Tertre and Ch. Giscours, the potential of the terrain is certainly now being realised.
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