Mazzei Badiola Toscana 2017

Out of a line up of over two dozen Tuscan wines – many costing fifty to seventy-five bucks and two in the three figures – this tiny gem from Mazzei came out on top.

Now I often talk about historic estates – but this time, I need to slow down and reset the scale. For 26 generations, the Mazzei has been producing wine off their historic Castello di Fonterutoli estate and are intimately tied up in the entire history of Tuscany. It was their name that was found on the first ever official document mentioning Chianti – all the way back in 1398.

Several generations later, family patriarch Phillip Mazzei was a winemaker, philosopher, arms dealer, and most importantly for us a close confidant of Thomas Jefferson. He influenced the future direction of the United States with his political writings which were incorporated into the Declaration of Independence – and maybe even more so by supplying the State of Virginia with the necessary arms to fight the red coats.

Now to the wine. Look – this wine would be good at three times the price. It was going to be great at my normal Nicholas pricing but on today’s mea culpa, it’s just a ridiculous deal.

The vineyard is located at high elevation within the heart of Chianti Classico. Mazzei could have easily just thrown the merlot in the dirt and bottled the Sangiovese alone for a much bigger pay day. I’m certainly glad they didn’t.

This is deep, dark and luscious with intense aromas of red berry and cocoa. Fresh and lively on in the mouth – and will be an excellent companion to any red sauce – yes, even pizza – pot roast, etc …