2009 Il Bastardo Rosso di Toscana

Happy Labor Day!  What a wonderful holiday to celebrate the end of summer, and in some cases a last hurrah for summer barbecues and cook outs, such a shame, but alas the changing seasons adds such spice to life doesn't it?

So on this Labor Day, I decided to go to the supermarket to get some groceries and perhaps find something good for my dinner this evening.  Well, I was thinking perhaps a nice steak, maybe a nice pork tenderloin, but let's not decide too quickly, and instead just let the super sales inspire me! 

We'll turn to my dinner in a moment, but for the wine tonight I picked out one of my old time favorites, the 2009 Il Bastardo Rosso di Toscana, a lighter red wine from Tuscany which would pair very well with my dinner.  Plus it has to have one of my favorite labels of all time, Il Bastardo himself, relaxing with a glass of his wine, oh how I can identify with this man!

The wine itself as I said was on the lighter side, with a clear ruby color and a nose of light fruit, leather and a touch of cedar.  The taste is quite dry, with a hint of ripe fruit, very few tannins and an exceptionally dry finish.  This wine would pair well with so many dishes, from steaks to roasts, to chicken and fish.  So what am I pairing it with tonight?  Well I started at one supermarket, where I like their produce, but not so much their meat (do you have that problem, you find yourself doing your grocery shopping at multiple stores?  I guess it's just like the old days before supercenters, where you went to a bakery, a butcher shop and a farm stand for your food...) but they had a nice Labor Day sale on fresh sweet corn, locally grown for 10¢ an ear so I picked up some, since that can go with any cook out!  Then off to the other store for some meat, still thinking about steak or pork tenderloin, when there I see the live lobsters for only $8 each!  So that is dinner tonight, steamed lobster with drawn butter and corn on the cob!  A real New England holiday meal in the Midwest, though it also reminds me of back in college when the Civil Air Patrol sold Maine lobsters for like $5 each as a fundraiser, so every fall when we got back on campus we'd have our annual lobster fest!

So back to the wine, it's not all that impressive, but it did make that Lobster come alive with flavor, and for $8, how can you complain about Il Bastardo?  With that label alone, I give this wine a solid 7!  Enjoy the end of summer however you celebrate!