Frescobaldi is a name that belongs along side the Antinori label as one of the great wines from Tuscany.

The Tenuta Frescobaldi Di Castiglioni 2010 Toscana is a really nice bold wine perfect for steaks, roasts, and hearty pasta. The Tuscan blend is 50 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 percent Merlot, 12 percent Cabernet Franc, and 8 percent Sangiovese.

The Frescobaldi delivers the typically big and bold taste of a Tuscan. It’s an inky dark red wine with notes of currant, plum and dark fruit. I get chocolate and spices on the mid palate that I really like.

The wine was pretty tannic initially but but opened nicely with a little time in the decanter.

I was taken by the wine’s balance  once it had some time to air. I loved the acidic finish as the tannics softened a bit. This affordable Tuscan is a classic example of really good Italian wine.

This wine is the flagship bottle for Frescobaldi. The grapes were hand picked and went through malolactic fermentation before 12 months in barrels and 2 months in bottles before release. It also comes in at a very reasonable 13.5 percent alcohol.

The wine has pretty consistent scores of 89-91 from top publications through recent vintages.

Tenuta Frescobaldi Di Castiglioni 2010 Toscana, SRP $25, found on the internet down to $18, Trade Sample, Highly Recommended.

Testing Out New Wine Device

I’ve been talking with the developers of a new device for saving that extra wine left over when you don’t finish a bottle for a few months. The “Savino” arrived last week.

I have done a phone interview with the company founder and will share that in a future newspaper column.

Tonight’s big Tuscan wine seemed like the perfect first test for this wine saver. We’ll see!

Consider this a tease. I want to run several bottles through the Savino before coming to any judgment. There are lots of stoppers out there but I’ve not seen anything like this. And let’s face it, most of those plugs, corks, and other devices do a minimally crappy job of preserving the wine.

I did include a photo here to intrigue the curious. The product is not yet on the market but will be next week.

Stay tuned for further details!