TN: Volpaia Balefico 2016

[Waiters Friend]

Balefico is the name of the vineyard, just a few hundred meters down the hill from the town. The wine is 65% Sangiovese and 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, and therefore falls outside the DoCG rules. It spends 18 months in new French oak barriques and carries 14% alcohol.

Deep purple in colour and quite a complex nose of darker fruits - blackberries, blueberries - alongside plums and cherry. There's also a fair whack of vanilla, and the cabernet component seems to be adding more to the blend than the percentages would indicate. Tannins are grippy and substantial, and there's a strong line of acid. Long finish and should develop for many years.

[Ian S]

On the question of ageing, here's a note from 2008 on a 22 year old Balifico

• 1986 Castello di Volpaia Balifico Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (09/08/2008)
  Claret-red but certainly showing a decent degree of browning. The nose is somewhat high-toned with some oak-smokiness and subtle amount of bottle stink. The fruit is subdued.
  
  On the palate it's relatively light and certainly mouth-wateringly juicy with nice balance. The finish is reasonable, but not long and the oak is surprisingly more prominent than on the nose. I suspect it must have tasted very woody in it's youth.
  
  Barring the overoaking (which I'm not all that fussed about), this is really quite a pleasant understated wine, that would be a very flexible match to food.
  [img]https://cdn.ct-static.com/labels/113084.jpg[/img]

[Waiters Friend]

On the question of ageing, here's a note from 2008 on a 22 year old Balifico

• 1986 Castello di Volpaia Balifico Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (09/08/2008)
  Claret-red but certainly showing a decent degree of browning. The nose is somewhat high-toned with some oak-smokiness and subtle amount of bottle stink. The fruit is subdued.
  
  On the palate it's relatively light and certainly mouth-wateringly juicy with nice balance. The finish is reasonable, but not long and the oak is surprisingly more prominent than on the nose. I suspect it must have tasted very woody in it's youth.
  
  Barring the overoaking (which I'm not all that fussed about), this is really quite a pleasant understated wine, that would be a very flexible match to food.
  [img]https://cdn.ct-static.com/labels/113084.jpg[/img]

Thank you for the note, Ian. I wonder if this is indicative of their ageing. I would probably be drinking them well before their 20th birthdays!

And you're right - these are Castello di Volpaia, not simply Volpaia.

Cheers
Allan