As you all know by now, since we've featured several of Antonella's wines that she makes wine in the Lombardy region of Italy. More specifically she is in an area called the Oltrepo Pavese where decadent, dark and rich barbera, bonarda and lively, zesty malvasia reign. She makes the distinction between her "young" reds and her "aged" reds and essentially less "gifted" wines, as she says, that do not have the right qualities for aging (body, color, alcohol content and stability) are passed over and she will just make "young" wines. Even her young wines are full and richly textured.
We are excited to choose "Zaffo" for you this week. Zaffo was Antonella's 18 year old Murgese horse. He has since passed on leaving behind his son Diluvio on the farm. She only makes the wine in exceptional vintages and so we don't see Zaffo very often. The wine is much like Zaffo, the horse, in that it is powerful and complex. Showing dark and deep concentrated wild berry fruit flavors, a savory herb component and rather firm tannin the wine could use a little time to open - but it's so good and so meant to be had with a juicy, meaty piece of beef or game you won't mind waiting to feel the tannins cutting through the fat.
Martilde "Zaffo" $21 a bottle
