Wine Review: Red wines not just for winter

As warmer temperatures approach, the choice of wine tends to change from the husky red wines of winter to the softer, fruitier white wines of spring and summer. But don’t bet on that.

Big reds will not suddenly be relegated to the back of the shelf. Rather, they’ll stay up front because of outdoor grilling. The popularity of outdoor grilling and dining has caused the sale of red wines not to diminish during the warmer seasons as might be expected.

Among the leaders in barbecue favorites are the impressive Italian red wines of Castello Banfi.

If I may digress for a moment, I believe the tradition of wine with meals was brought to this country by the Italian immigrants of the late 1800s. To Italian immigrants, a meal without wine was a meal without Italians. Thus started the trend that continues to this day.

Banfi 2019 Chianti Classico ($16)
As with most Italian wines, the district where the grapes were grown is of major importance. For this wine, the Banfi vintners drew the grapes from a specifically designated area within the Chianti grape-growing area known as the Classico district. The grapes from that district produce some of the finest wines in the Chianti style. A deep garnet color announces the signature aroma of dried plums and wildflowers with a hint of berries in the background. The flavor is round and powerful, accenting blackberries, plums and an earthy flavor that has become synonymous with any wine called Chianti. This wine is my personal choice for grilled foods.

Banfi 2017 Chianti Riserva ($19)
The title Riserva indicates that this wine has been given about two years of extra aging in oak. It also indicates that the grapes were handpicked and hand sorted so that only the best were used to make this wine. To the consumer, it indicates a mellow wine with all the traditional Chianti flavors and aromas, greater depth, softness, a hint of vanilla and that individual mineral flavor that makes the wine easily identifiable as a Chianti. This is a great wine to accompany the roasted foods of summer.

Banfi Magna Cum Laude ($37)
Since this wine is a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, sangiovese and syrah, I believe this wine could be called a Super Tuscan. Whatever you call it, it is an incredible wine. To attain this lofty position, the wine varieties were individually aged six to eight months and then given an additional six months after blending to marry. Finally, the concoction was allowed to rest for six months after bottling. Was all of this care really necessary? The first sip can attest to the fact that it was. The aroma is a swirling cloud of blackberry, plum and cherry with notes of black olive, licorice and the faintest hint of pipe tobacco, all of which follow through to the exceptional finish.

Aska Bolgheri Rosso ($33)
A bit of translation is needed here. Aska is the Etruscan word for a container, Bolgheri is a wine grape-growing region in Tuscany and finally Rosso is red wine. With that out of the way, we are more interested in what is in the Aska. This wine is a true Tuscan beauty made from mostly cabernet sauvignon and just a bit of cabernet franc. The grapes come from Tuscany and therefore carry indelible Tuscan flavor and aroma undertones along with those of the cabernet sauvignon. Both the flavor and aroma accent cherry with a noticeable amount of cassis backing it up. Behind these flavors is a layer of soft tannins and a background of oak, vanilla and just a suggestion of the very Tuscan additions of licorice and pipe tobacco.

Wine columnist Bennet Bodenstein can be reached at frojhe1@att.net.