Pine, black licorice, blackberry, cherry, plum, cedar, red currant, anise, menthol, chicory, eucalyptus and
bay leaf.
For this wine, I was torn between two of my favorite recipes: Lamb Shanks with Mushroom Bolognese and
Medium Rare Lamb Stew. Either recipe will work well, but I chose to go with the lamb shanks, which pair
gorgeously with this wine’s rich fruit flavors. Earthy, rich, and succulent, this dish will fill your home with
wonderful aromas as it cooks. Serve it with an insalata tricolore (tri color salad of endive, radicchio and
arugula) to make a meal.
Bold and brambly, this wine is a cornucopia on the nose with intense and fresh aromas of ripe red fruit,
citrus, floral notes and hints of spicy oak and eucalyptus. It’s round on the palate, too, with fleshy fruits (like
dark plum and pithy red grapefruit) studded with espresso and black licorice and an underlying essence of
creamy almonds. It fills the mouth with generous flavor and chewy texture. Nicely structured and complex,
this wine (which, by the way, is the color of garnets with purple highlights) has ripe but soft tannins, a
lingering herbaceous finish and fruity aftertaste.
On the Tuscan coast, Tenuta Argentiera marks the southernmost border of the tiny, prestigious Bolgheri
DOC appellation zone, famed for its stellar reds. In ancient times, Bolgheri was a wealthy agricultural town
with a strong grape-growing heritage. Tuscany’s noble families rediscovered and recast the traditional wines,
producing fantastic reds from the sloping coastal vineyards. Now owned by the Fratini brothers (Corrado
and Marcello) and Marchese Antinori, Argentiera once belonged to the Serristoris, an influential Florentine
family given the land by the Medicis in the 16th century. The estate’s cellar (constructed of terracotta bricks,
baked roofing tiles and travertine floors) nods to the region’s architectural style, particularly the garrisons
from the 18th century. The vineyards of Argentiera (the name derives from the Italian word for silver,
found on the land by the Etruscans) are the highest in altitude and the closest to the sea within the Bolgheri
region; you can see several islands, including Elba and Corsica, from the estate’s hillside perch. Constant
cooling sea breezes, coupled with high density planting and low yields, help to produce wines that are
intense with highly concentrated fruit. After harvest, the three varietals that make up this wine (Cabernet
Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah) are vinified separately; half of the wine ages in French oak barrels and half in
stainless steel tanks.
Poggio al Ginepri literally means “little hill of junipers” and refers to the juniper bushes that dot the
picturesque Argentiera property.
