Slow Cooked Brisket Pairing with Bulichella Wines of Suvereto

Over the past few months I’ve been highlighting some of the wines of southern Tuscany highlighting some of the differences of those from the more northernly neighbors in Tuscany.  This week we’re exploring the area of Suvereto checking out the Bulichella winery and their “super Tuscan” style wines.

The southern Tuscany region

Suvereto is said to be the “borghi piu belli di Italia”, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, based in the Livorno province of Tuscany about 50 miles southwest out of Florence bordering the Tyrrhenian Sea.  This area is considered the Maremma, which you may recall me talking about some weeks back.  It’s situated between the hills and the sea, also known as the Etruscan coast, “costa degli Etruschi”. 

Suvereto is in the Val di Cornia which is full of forests and a variety of trees, especially the cork trees from which it takes its name, sughero translating to corks.  Records show that back in 973 the area was known as Suberetum and in local dialect, Sughereto.  It’s no wonder this area is full of craftsmen including carpenters and cork workers. 

The closest I have come to visit this area is the nearby island of Elba right off the coast.  The area surrounding Suvereto is full of wonderful outdoor activities including walking and biking trails as well as thermals baths.  Multiple festivals take place throughout the year including the “Calici di Stelle”, the chalice of the stars, that takes place in mid-August.  There is also the Sagra del Cinghiale, the wild boar festival, held the first week of December.   

The winery – Bulichella

I’ve mostly always written about the decades or centuries of traditions within wineries that families have passed down from generation to generation.  Today, the story behind Bulichella is different.  Owner Hideyuki Miyakawa first ventured to Italy in 1960 from Japan during the Olympics with some friends.  To earn more money during his travels he became a correspondent covering the car show in Turin, where he happened to meet his future wife, Maria Luisa Bassana, that he married 2 years later in 1962. 

Hideyuki Miyakawa

Hideyuki established strong relationship with prominent figures in the car design industry where he later became partner in 1968 to the company Italystyling that is now known as ItalDesign.  He also became a large influence in exporting the Italian car design to his home country of Japan, which earned him in 2007 the award and honor of Grand Officer Order of Merit of Italian Republic by the President at the time, Giorgio Napolitano.

Hideyuki Miyakawa

The clay mineral rich soils of the surrounding land along with the maritime climate create ideal conditions for making quality wine.  The vineyards are well ventilated from the breeze off the sea.  The Maremma territory is known for their “super Tuscan” style wines, which are Bordeaux based wines primarily made of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot that show great balance and elegance.  They don’t conform to Tuscany’s regulations and the rules of its northernly neighbors so winemakers have branched out experimenting with how they would like to produce wines without the restrictions. 

Soils of Montepeloso

Some of Italy’s top wines hail from the Maremma.  Point proven that it isn’t always about the designation that one label bears, but rather the quality within the bottle.  Personally I’ve always been hesitant when I see wines marketed in the US as “super tuscans” as I feel many have used this as a marketing technique, but you decide.   

For a couple of the wines that I’m sharing from Bulichella, these wines fall under the Suvereto DOCG that was established in 2011 in which Hideyuki played a large role in getting established when he was the prior President of the Val di Cornia DOC Wine Consortium.  This area had previously fallen under the Val di Cornia DOC.  You may find wines produced there as single varietals of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese or blended with at least 85% minimum of one of the grapes.

Bulichella was one of the first organic estates in Tuscany and is ICEA Organic certified throughout their entire production chain including their photovoltaic system.  Today their estate is comprised of about 103 acres of which 35 acres are vineyards and 25 are olive groves. 

The Wines

I sampled 4 wines from the Bulichella winery mostly made of blends with one based 100% on the Syrah grape.  I’m not a huge fan of oak usage, primarily newer oak, but what stood out to me about these wines was their elegance.  My favorite of the bunch was the Montecristo, but I tend to prefer Merlot and with a blend dominated by Merlot that took my preferable spot.

The 2020 Bulichella Rubino Costa Toscana Rosso IGT was made of 50% Sangiovese, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 14% Petit Verdot.  This wine was fermented in stainless steel, macerated for 8 days.  It was matured in stainless steel and spent 6 months in 3^rd and 4^th usage of French oak.  This was an enjoyable every day wine.  Transparent ruby colored with sweet cherries with a hint of licorice on the nose.  Medium bodied, but on the lighter end of the scale, with fresh acidity, red fruits and savory notes.  A nice silkiness on the palate, light on the tannin with a lingering finish.  ABV 14%

The 2018 Bulichella Hide Syrah Costa Toscana Syrah IGT is made of 100% Syrah.  This wine had spontaneous fermentation in French oak with 25 days maceration.  Aged for 18 months in 100% new French oak barriques and tonneaux plus an additional 6 months in the bottle.  Transparent ruby colored with ripe, sweet red fruits with a hint of white pepper.  Medium to fuller bodied with juicy acidity.  Blackberry fruits with smoky notes.  Smooth tannin with cedar towards the finish that was lengthy.  ABV 14.5%

The 2018 Bulichella Montecristo Suvereto DOCG Rosso is made of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon (old vines) and 10% Petit Verdot.  This was was fermented in stainless steel with 24 days maceration.  Aged 22 months in 100% new French oak barriques and 6 months in the bottle.  More intense and deeper ruby in color than the prior wines.  Bold aromas of ripe cherry and cocoa with a touch of balsamic.  Full-bodied with mouthwatering acidity up front upon opening.  Plush red fruits and black currants. Fine, elegant tannin with a lengthy finish. ABV 14.5%

The 2018 Bulichella Coldipietrerosse Suvereto DOCG is made of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20%Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. Fermented in stainless steel with 25-30 day maceration.  Aged 18 months in 50% new French oak barrique and 6 months in the bottle.  Transparency ruby colored with notes of cassis on the nose.  Medium bodied with nice brightness and freshness that I wasn’t expecting.  With a 15% alcohol level I found it to be rather balanced.  Dark fruits with notes of tobacco and polished tannins.  

Wine Pairing

One of my favorite dishes when in Tuscany is eating wild boar.  I was intrigued to discover that Suvereto has a wild boar festival.  Although I didn't prepare wild boar to taste with these wines I used the brisket that we bought from our local farm and cooked it in the slow cooker for about 7-8 hours for a quick, but delicious meal.  I browned the brisket first on both sides for 2-3 minutes for added flavor and set it on low with some water and wine (of course) along with garlic, onions and varied seasonings to include bay leaves, salt and pepper.  Once the brisket was done I pulled it out and added some corn starch to the remaining juice to thicken the sauce.  I added the brisket back in once the sauce thickened and shredded the brisket upon removing much of the fat.  

I have to say all these wines paired just lovely with this dish.  Between the complexities of the flavors and fat in the meat matched to the flavors in these wines with their fruit, acidity and tannin  made for a delightful pairing.    

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*These wines were provided as samples, but opinions are my own.

 

Italian Easter Food & Wine Pairings this Pasqua

Easter, or Pasqua in Italian, a major christian religious holiday throughout Italy, is a celebration of religion and family. The Easter season begins Palm Sunday and is terminated the Monday after Easter known as Pasquetta, or Little Easter, where the family festivities and celebrations continue via picnics or celebrations at one another's homes. It has many symbolic meanings and is a rebirth of not only christ, but the celebration and commencement of the spring season.

Of course with any holiday, food is a major consideration and with any Italian meal the wine follows. Every region has their own specialties and you may be familiar with some of these dishes depending upon your origins. Kick off your Pasqua meal with prosecco to add some bubbles to your celebrations.

Contorni

Side dishes, or contorni, will typically consist of asparagus, artichokes, chard and many other fresh vegetables.

First Course

For first courses, or il primo piatto, lasagna is a popular dish as well as other stuffed and baked pastas. Maybe you're heard of or have tried torta pasqualina, a savory puff pastry quiche filled with eggs, cheese, herbs and other additional ingredients from the region of Liguria. 

Torta Pasqualina

Wine recommendations: Lots of options for first courses when it comes to a wine selection, but consider a barbera, valpolicella or sangiovese.

Second Course

For the secondo or main course, lamb is the go-to option by many. Lamb represents the sacrifice of the Easter holiday. Each region will have a different style of preparation whether it's grilled or roasted and seasoned with herbs accompanied by beans, roasted potatoes, and some of the contorni mentioned above. Since this is the main course I would selected a wine with structured tannins to go with the lamb as well as a wine that has a balance of fruit and acid, but not too bold to overpower the lamb. 

Wine recommendations: Depending on the producer consider a negroamaro, primitivo, super tuscans from Bolgheri or the Maremma or a cannonau.

Herb Roasted Lamb by the Culinary Geek

Desserts

Who doesn't love ending their meal with a little sweetness and the desserts of Easter are some of the highlights. The basic chocolate egg shell filled with treats for the children is always an option, but there is also colomba pasquale bread, a sweet bread typically in the shape of a dove. I always enjoyed struffoli growing up, small balls of pastry drizzled with honey and topped with a sprinkling of confetti. There is also pastiera, a cake made of ricotta and wheat from Naples within Campania. 

Wine recommendations: A recommended wine pairing with some of these dishes would be a moscato bianco from Piedmont.

Pasqua chocolate eggs by Maurizio

What are you Easter traditions and what will be you be enjoying?

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A good value Super Tuscan from Tenuta Santo Pietro

There is nothing like getting an email during the day from your local wine shop, Pairings, advertising an overstock on behalf of the distributor and that a super tuscan wine is being discounted to only $15.99 for today only at the tasting. Of course after a long day of work I ran right over to try it out. I can't ever pass down a good Italian wine tasting. The wine was a 2007 Super Tuscan called “Viper” from the Tenuta Santo Pietro winery in Tuscany.  

This wine comes from the small town of Pienza, which I actually visited years ago driving through the gorgeous Tuscan hills. I had decided to stop for some lunch at a small salumeria, somewhat similar to our deli's in the US. Nothing like a fresh pecorino and prosciutto sandwich on crisp tuscan bread. Simple, but the flavors were delicious. Sitting on the wall overlooking the landscape, what more could I ask for. I digress.......back to the wine.

This wine is made up of 80% sangiovese, 15% merlot and 5% syrah. To remind all, sangiovese is the primary grape that makes up chianti so it had a lot of the typical characteristics of sangiovese, including nice ripe cherry and red fruit, but it had a great balance between the acidity and tannin in the wine and good body. This wine was drinking well now. 

Why the viper you ask?  It definitely jumps out at you on the shelves. When the owners bought the estate over 10 years ago in Pienza they revamped the vineyards and upon doing so the vipers that are indigenous to the area were underneath the vines.  I'm glad I didnt know about the vipers from all my visits there.

What does the name super tuscan mean? No it is not the superman of italian wines. The name super tuscan was created because wineries of the area started to experiment with the sangiovese grape and wanted to add other grapes as well like cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah. Unfortunately due to the DOC and DOCG standards this wasn't allowed, so the IGT, Indicazione Geografica Tipica, status was established in 1992. Some of the top wines of this region are IGT wines like Ornellaia, Tignanello and Sassicaia. 

If you want to experience a Super Tuscan, this wine at retail price around $20 is a good way to do so.

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Monte Antico from Neil Empson while out on the snowmobile trails

This weekend I did what I love doing in the winter, snowmobiling! Even though the temperatures were well before zero there is nothing like sledding deep into the woods and exploring the natural beauty of the Great North Woods in NH beautifully covered in snow. Then another great part is coming home, taking a hot shower and relaxing with a bottle of wine. Who said you can't be classy and rugged at the same time!

This weekend I decided to open a bottle of Monte Antico from the portfolio of Neil Empson. I learned about Neil years ago when I worked for Martignettis and my boss at the time had exposed me to their impressive Italian portfolio. 
 
Monte Antico, meaning “ancient mountain”, is actually their own wine whom they have paired with the famous winemaker, Franco Bernabei, to produce. The wine is actually a Super Tuscan containing primarily Sangiovese with some Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon blended in. The grapes are hand picked from the Tuscan countryside of the Maremma, Colline Pisane and Colli Fiorentini areas. It's aged a year in oak and another 6 months in the bottle.

I found this 2008 bottle to be well rounded and balanced between the acidity and ripe red fruit. It's a solid medium bodied wine that is very smooth with soft tannins and a nice finish. What made it even easier is that it had a screw cap! It's very reasonably priced as well at $10-12 a bottle on average.

Have you had any of NeilEmpson wines?  If so, which ones are your favorite?