2011 Rosso Col D'Orcia

Happy Taco Tuesday!  I bet you'll never guess what I'm having for dinner, but what wine to pair with said tacos?  Well, tonight I've just randomly decided to open a bottle of last month's office wine club selection, the 2011 Rosso Col D'Orcia, an interesting Sangiovese blend from Tuscany.  What makes this one interesting is that it's a blend of select Sangiovese clones, many of which are endangered.  This wine is a result of blending a number of those clones with two native Sangiovese varieties (60%), balanced with Celiegilio (30%) and Foglia Tonda (10%).  So let see how this will work with tacos!

The wine is a lovely garnet color in the glass, classic for a Tuscan blend.  The nose is wonderful rush of leather, black cherry, dried herbs and peppery spice.  The taste is a lovely blast of fruit, an interesting combination of sweet currant and berry offset by some tart cherry notes.  The fruit transitions nicely to some mineral and spice notes midpalate before we experience a reprise or red fruit on the finish.  The tannins are somewhat mellow, leading to a lovely, smooth dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, as it was a good value at $18 from Wines Till Sold Out, and it's drinking quite nicely right now.  With the red fruit, it would pair very well with a lot of casual dinners, from pizza to barbecue to tacos!  Cheers!