Splurge on your Easter wine

If I were to choose one wine for my Easter meal, I would put my extra savings into a bottle of Marchesi de Frescobaldi 2007 Mormoreto. The wine is considered a legendary Super Tuscan, from the gentle slopes near Florence (Italy).

As a matter of fact, recently, at a lavish wine dinner hosted by the Frescobaldi family and their brand ambassador, Alessandro Lunardi, I was able to taste the quality of what the Frescobaldi family calls the “best Mormoreto” ever produced.

Ironically, 2007 is the 25th anniversary of the production of Mormoreto.
My memories date back to March 2, 2012, when our first granddaughter, Hava, was born.

To celebrate her birth, we opened a bottle of 2007 Mormoreto instead of Champagne. Family and friends made a toast for Hava.

Several weeks ago was her first birthday, and once again, we toasted Hava, parents included, with a bottle of 2007 Mormoreto. It must be a family tradition?

What I relearned was how exciting and wonderful the wine is. I decided that on special occasions, why not open a bottle of great wine, like Frescobaldi’s Mormoreto and toast the event.

And Easter is a great excuse.

At the hosted dinner I attended, I did learn that Mormoreto was given “three glasses,” the highest award, at the 1997, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2006 and 2007 Gambero Rosso events that highlight Italy’s best wines.

The breakdown of Mormoreto 2007 is quite interesting: 60 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 25 percent Merlot, 12 percent Cabernet Franc and three percent Petit Verdot. The vines are 20 years old and rise to 1,000 feet altitude.

The soil, according to the Frescobaldi family, is the key to the wine. In this case, the soil Mormoreto is grown on is considered the best on the vineyard.

According to Frescobaldi folklore, the first Super Tuscan planted on their property was in 1855, possibly the first in Tuscany. From 1855 to present day, the Frescobaldi family found the formula that works.

At the dinner, the words we used to describe the wine were: layers of aroma of smoke, earth, vanilla, strawberries, blackberries and violets. The intoxicating flavors on the palate exploded with upfront sweet fruit, strawberry, mint and smoke followed by expressive tannins that created a long, fruity, lingering finish.

What I learned at the dinner was the philosophy of the Frescobaldi family: The goal of the company is to use the land to produce the highest quality wines in Tuscany and to sell the wines at reasonable prices.

The Frescobaldi family has been making wine for 700 years.

It is time for you to try a bottle of Mormoreto and experience what wine is all about.

Posted by Phillip Kampe on March 28, 2013. Filed under Columns,Food,Opinion,Wine and Beyond. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry