Bisci Villa Castiglioni Rosso Marche 2004

From its deep ruby robe, the color of finest velvet, to its long graceful finish, the 2004 Bisci Villa Castiglioni cuts a handsome figure. As one panel member so eagerly proclaimed, "I could drink a lot of this wine," to which the rest of the panel responded, "Amen." It offers a superb nose, an aromatic enchantment sated with the scent and savor of Bordeaux (Cabernet Sauvignon) along with the ethereal warmth of Tuscany (Sangiovese).This is a perfumed wine, replete with the redolence of woodland blackberries, truffle, anise, and smoked meats. On the palate the 2004 Villa Castiglioni comes across as a super-smooth "Super Tuscan," silky and seamless and ohhh so flavorful. Already this wine drinks like a veritable Tuscan treasure or first rate Médoc, and further bottle age will only increase the pleasure quotient of the 2004 Villa Castiglioni, so you will want to stash a few bottles away for another day. Our experience with Villa Castiglioni over the years has been superb; in fine vintages such as 2004, Villa Castiglioni will drink beautifully young, but like Sleepy Beauty the fairness of the 2004 Villa Castiglioni will increase with slumber and deepen over the years to a rare illustriousness. We fully expect this wine to continue to evolve in bottle for several more years and offer superb drinking for up to ten years or more. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2016. And, as with most fine Italian reds, we suggest some breathing time (at least twenty minutes in a decanter or resting in the glass before consuming). Enjoy!

Given the supreme elegance, velvet smoothness, and considerable flavor profile of the 2004 Bisci Villa Castiglioni, this wine has no difficulty finding suitable companionship. It is equally adept at providing the ideal accompaniment to an elegant dinner party as it is to sprucing up midweek meatloaf or the weekend's leftovers. Nevertheless, fine wine is at its best with food of similar stature, so why not bring the finest that your kitchen has to offer? Some of our top choices with the Bisci Villa Castiglioni include Lamb Shanks with Beans, Florentine Steak, or freshly made Cheese and Wine Sausages that are gently grilled over Cabernet vine cuttings or mesquite. Spit-roasted chicken or game hen, Duck à l'Orange, and even hearty marinara sauces will also do the 2004 Bisci Villa Castiglioni proud; but no need to stop here, as there are very few dishes that this wonderful wine won't enhance. For those limiting their ingestion of meat, we suggest Cavolo in Casseruola, a Northern Italian dish that adds new meaning to the raison d'être of the humble cabbage. Besides, in the company of creamy, flavorful cheeses such as Vacherin or Edam, the Bisci Villa Castiglioni is right at home. Salute!

The Castiglione Bisci estate is the Marche's finest expression of quality and style for red and white wines alike. This is a superbly situated property whose consistent success with Verdicchio, the region's most renowned wine, and Villa Castiglioni, the estate's outstanding proprietary red, make Bisci the Marche's most illustrious name in wine. In fact, its owners produce several wines of extraordinary quality. In order to produce such outstanding wines, draconian measures are taken by Bisci to assure the ultimate quality of every bottle: rigorous pruning to limit yields, strict selection of every cluster at harvest, the bottling of only free-run must, along with the steadfast refusal to bottle wine in poor vintages – a rarity in today's cash-flow-driven economy. And these are just a few of the measures that set this estate apart from the vast majority of commercial producers in the Marche. The Marche is the picturesque viticultural region of Italy that lies between the Apennines and the Adriati, a green pastoral land that recalls the simple delights of Tuscany in times gone by. Here several excellent and increasingly well-known wines are produced: Verdicchio, Rosso Piceno, and Rosso Conero. However, the region's best-kept secret remains outstanding proprietary reds such as Bisci Villa Castiglioni. Moreover, Bisci is widely acknowledged to be the foremost producer of Verdicchio, the Marche's signature white wine. Bisci is located in the heart of Matelica, a very small township couched in the hilly rural part of the central Marche. Yet, even in the Marche, Bisci's wines are fairly rare and difficult to find. Matelica is the real Marchs, a land of substance as well as charm, whose attributes are aptly reflected in the property's wines. All of Bisci's wines are handcrafted in tiny quantities and most are consumed locally. In addition to producing outstanding Verdicchio di Matelica from the estate's vineyards, Bisci crafts small quantities of superb red wine. The estate's signature red, Villa Castiglioni, is a seductive blend of 70% Sangiovese (the famous Tuscan varietal which is also indigenous to the Marche) and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. This is roughly the same blend or cepage as the great proprietary reds of Tuscany, known as Super Tuscans, who legally cannot claim to be Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile de Montepulciano, or any other well-known Tuscan red because of the addition of Cabernet Sauvignon. Villa Castiglioni proffers a heavenly bouquet and more than enough elegance and flavor to put to shame many of the neighboring so-called "Super Tuscans." And like its Tuscan counterparts, Villa Castiglioni must be labeled with a proprietary name and not that of an appellation. If Villa Castiglioni substituted the local Montepulciano grape for its portion of Cabernet Sauvignon, it would be entitled to the Marche's Rosso Piceno appellation. Such is the Byzantine intrigue and the confusing vagary of fine wine production in Italy. No matter, the wine is both beautiful and sensual.