Tuscany’s Montalcino is all about Sangiovese, particularly its revered clone known as “Brunello.” The La
Rasina Rosso, is like a “baby Brunello,”—a lovely coalescence of Old and New World styling. It’s pungent
on the nose with scents of blueberry, raspberry and black tea, and the wine’s structure deftly supports
flavors of blue and black fruits, spices, assorted fresh herbs with a hint of leather.
Blueberry, raspberry, leather, cherry, lavender.
The La Rasina estate in beautiful Montalcino spreads across 110 acres of Tuscan hillside, 25 of which are
planted to Sangiovese. La Rasina was founded by Montalcino native Santi Mantengoli in 1973, with the
first wines being released in 1988. Today, managed by Santi’s grandson, Marco, the estate is a tribute to
three generations of dedication and tireless effort. Marco Mantengoli works with the assistance of famed
oenologist Paolo Caciorgna to craft generous, distinctive wines made exclusively from estate-grown
Sangiovese. When Brunello was upgraded to DOCG status, Rosso di Montalcino was established as a
DOC appellation. Rosso wines must be aged for one year instead of four, which permits producers like La
Rasina to release a younger, less expensive alternative to Brunello. It’s good for the customer and great for
cash flow!
Often the leanness and acidity of a typical Rosso demand, in traditional Tuscan fashion, that the wine be
served with similarly high-acid foods like tomatoes. But this wine brings comforting richness and depth,
allowing it to move up a notch on the food chain, where it will pair gorgeously with denser fare like wellmarbled
meat, which the wine’s acidity and tannins help to break down. Braised pork, veal or duck will also
serve this wine well. We’ve gone with something a little different—Pepperoni, Macaroni and Cheese “Lasagna
Style.”
A two-hour drive south of Florence, Montalcino is a quintessential hillside village in Italy’s Tuscany
Region, which produces what is widely considered the world’s foremost expression of Sangiovese—
Brunello di Montalcino.
