Querceta Rosso Toscana Rosso IGT 2005

Rating: 92/100 - As reviewed by The Wine Messenger A dense, flavorful and full-bodied Super Tuscan red. This Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sangiovese blend ages in oak for a year before release.
Gaius is the estate’s Super Tuscan blend. It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (40%), Merlot (40%), and Sangiovese (20%) grown in some of Montalcino’s best vineyards. The wine is aged in Slavonian oak barrels for a year before release. 2004 was a very good year throughout Tuscany, and we are excited by the 2004 Chiantis that will be arriving over the next few months.
Deep garnet color with good concentration. On the nose, smoke, read more...wood, and red fruit aromas abound. A big, rich wine with dark fruit flavors (plums and blackberries) with a hint of smoke and herbs before a smooth finish with nice tannins. A very big, easy-drinking wine with structure that will continue to develop for 3 to 4 more years until 2012. Perfect with roasts, steak, rack of lamb, strong cheeses, and game.
Barbecue Beef, Barbecue Chicken, Barbecue Pork, Beef, Boar, Chili, Cured Ham, Fresh Cheese, Game, Grilled Red Meats, Ham, Hamburger, Hard Cheese, Italian Red Sauces, Italian Spices, Lamb, Pasta, Pizza, Red Meats, Roasted Red Meats, Steak, Stews
Querceta is an old farm in the Southern Montalcino, near the Abbey of St. Antimo. Their vineyards rise above the Orcia River in a valley that is protected them from cold northern winds.
Montalcino is a picturesque hilltop town south of Siena in Tuscany. The warm days, and clay stone soil produce powerful red wine from the Brunello grape, the local clone of Sangiovese.

Athough Montalcino lies only 20 miles south of the Chianti Classico Region’s southernmost border, marked by the beautiful medieval city of Siena, the climate and soil are completely different. The limestone soil and dry, hot weather make Montalcino’s wines, most notably the great Brunellos, the most potent Sangiovese wines of Tuscany. These wines are dense, flavorful and full-bodied with noticeably less acidity than their cousins.

Overview Greek settlers first planted vineyards in Italy sometime around 800BC. Since then, wine has been entrenched in the Italian culture, ‘as common as water on the dinner table’. Most of the topography in Italy, about four fifths, is perfect for growing grapes, because of the hilly and mountainous features. These features helped Italy produce 20% of the worlds wine in the nineties (580 million hectoliters).

Italy greatly varies in topography, climate and culture from North to South and the styles of wine reflect these differences:

In the North, the Appennines Mountains and the lakes of Como, Garda and Maggiore work together to moderate the cool winters and hot summers and prolong the grapes’ growing season.

The Northeast is best known for the Nebbiolo grape, considered to produce the finest of Italian wines. The concentration of fruit, high tannin and acidity combine to produce a long-ageing wine with incredible depth and character.

The cool Northwest is better known for its white wines. Pinot Grigio is by far the most famous white wine in Italy, known for its crisp acidity and subtle fruit character.

Central Italy is renowned area for Chianti, a medium bodied, fruity and acidic red wine from the Sangiovese grape. The Southern area is much hotter and Mediterranean in character. Here, the wines are less tannic and lighter bodied in style, to better accompany the lighter cuisines of the area.

Recently Italy has experienced a rebirth in quality wines. Years ago the wine flowed like water and was equally flimsy and thin, but that is no longer the case. Throughout the twenty regions of Italy, more and more quality whites and reds can be found from places like Piedmont, Tuscany and Friuli. The category given out prestigious of wines in Italy is known as the DOC and DOCG. DOC stands for denominazione di origine controllata and DOCG stands for denominazione di orginie controllata e grarantita. These are guarantees of authenticity and quality that can be found on the label of the highest quality Italian wines from selected vineyards or regions.