San Giusto A Rentennano Merlot la Ricolma 2010 750ml

One of the real showstoppers in this tasting, the 2010 La Ricolma is a wine of pure and total class. When it was younger, the 2010 was a powerhouse, but today it is much more perfumed and refined, with a real sense of grace that runs through it. Dried flowers, mint, sweet red cherry, blood orange and lavender are all beautifully lifted in a translucent, deep Merlot with Sangiovese-like inflections that deliver the goods. This is a superb showing. “From the stand point of weather, 2010 is very similar to 2013.” Luca Martini di Cigala explained. In tasting, though, the 2010 is quite a bit more refined. The fruit was brought in on September 24, before the heavy rains that fell in early October that year, during harvest. This is a phenomenal showing from the 2010.

• Country: Italy
• Region: Tuscany
• Size: 750ml
• Color: Red

Varietal

Merlot

With its dark blue colored fruits and high juice content, Merlot varietal grapes have long been a favorite of wine producers around the globe, with it being found in vineyards across Europe, the Americas and elsewhere in the New World. One of the distinguishing features of Merlot grapes is the fact that they have a relatively low tannin content and an exceptionally soft and fleshy character, meaning they are capable of producing incredibly rounded and mellow wines. This mellowness is balanced with plenty of flavor, however, and has made Merlot grapes the varietal of choice for softening other, more astringent and tannin-heavy wines, often resulting in truly exceptional produce. Merlot is regarded as one of the key ‘Bordeaux’ varietals for precisely this reason; when combined with the drier Cabernet Sauvignon, it is capable of blending beautifully to produce some of the finest wines available in the world.