Here in Ontario our Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) seems to have a love affair with Tuscan wines and then gives token recognition on its shelves to the many other regions of Italy. What a colossal disservice to wine drinkers looking for something more than Sangiovese! I think Campania has an arsenal of wines ignored and I say that after a five-day blitz of Campanian wineries in the Municipality of Naples courtesy of the Italian Trade Commission here in Toronto.
This time we try a Calabrian red called Ferrocinto Magliocco Terra di Consenza Pollino 2018. A heavy non-carbon friendly bottle reveals a black cherry coloured wine with a nose that is replete with black cherry, blackberry, raspberry and cloves. On the palate a rather silky hit of Christmas cake, pomegranate and a cherry tartine. Some tannins bring the wine into slow motion and signify perhaps a few more years in the bottle will reward anyone out there with a cellar. A baby in diapers one might say. But give it 5 years in a cool dark cellar and you just might end up with a Spartan warrior. Given its youth and given that Passover seder is tomorrow although this is not a KP (Kosher for Passover) wine this would be my choice for a fatty and juicy slow cut cooked piece of beef like a beef brisket. The LCBO catalogue says pair with lamb but I beg to differ as lamb rather begs for a softer Merlot based wine. This is not a wine to cart home and drink quickly. It needs more time to mature and if you want to call that old school you may be right. This is no supermarket uncorked as soon as you return home special. Demands food.
I hear wild boar in Saskatchewan are a problem. If you are a person familiar with Tuscan Wild Boar Stew too many wild boar in our province of Saskatchewan is an opportunity rather than a problem. This wine would pair well with some wild boar stew or sauce over pasta.
This will age nicely until 2030.
(Ferrocinto Magliocco Terre Di Cosenza Pollino 2018 DOC, Campoverde SPA Agricola, Castovillari, Italy, $20.95, LCBO # 17534, 14%, Robert K. Stephen Set The Bar Rating 89/100).
Although today this immature wine is an 89/100 it will climb in ratings over the next decade.
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