Castello di Volpaia Prelius ‘Prile’ Toscana 2016

It had been a while since I had heard from the folks at Castello di Volpaia so I called in to see how things were going. Some phone calls are timed better than others, but this one seemed to catch Carlo and Giovannella’s son, Nicolò at a particularly good time.

I told him I wanted to do something special for the NW faithful, and he suggested something from the library and we went back and forth talking about our favorite vintages from the last few decades. Of course ‘97 and ‘98 were the “dream years” first mentioned. But I was also a sucker for the ‘07s, ‘13s and most recently the 2016s.

How about a limited release from the library in 2016? I told him I was 100% in as long as I could get enough to get everybody who wants it. He said he had the perfect wine and here we are. Likely, this is our Super Tuscan of the Year.

A Cabernet Sauvignon dominant blend, this is a gorgeous cuvee that is rounded out by Sangiovese and Merlot. This is not to get confused with the regular Prelius – this is a special bottling and a few steps agave it.