MCF Rare Wine

Scopetone Rosso 2017 - Textbook Montalcino

 

This time of year, we make a lot of soup in my house.

 

(I think I've mentioned this before, but I can't recall right now...)

 

It really is the perfect Winter food. 

 

I make them all veggie-heavy, so they're a great way to mindlessly cram in your vegetables. 

 

You can make a huge pot on Monday, and eat it all week, so you always have a healthy, warming meal at the ready when you get home each night...

 

...and it tends to taste better the longer it hangs around. 

 

If you toss in a poached egg, it's a fabulous breakfast. 

 

Above all, it's just delicious and it just warms the soul.

 

One of my favorite ones to make (and I actually did this week), is an Italian Sausage, Broccoli Rabe and White Bean soup.  There's no firm recipe, because I'm not that organized and I don't cook that way.  Plus, I also like the idea of each pot of soup being its own, unique thing. 

 

It does, however, always have good, crispy bits of crumbled fennel and/or hot sausage, tons of rabe and beans and a healthy dose of garlic and chili flakes.  It is often topped with some grated parmesan and is always finished with some top-notch olive oil. 

 

While there are plenty of good options to pair with this soup, red or white, there's something about Sangiovese that just really clicks.  Maybe the white beans (a staple of Tuscany), the Parmigiano, the salsiccia...I don't know...but the two together are just...perfect.  

 

So, it was rather fitting to grab a bottle of today's wine to go with it this week.  Scopetone is a greatly underappreciated producer of textbook, value-driven wines in Montalcino, and their Rosso di Montalcino 2017 is, for $24, just fantastic. 

 

It's rather strapping for a Rosso, challenging many a Brunello in terms of backbone and muscle, and the dark, rustic, iron/mineral-packed character that you love in a Montalcino is on full display.  The firm, dry finish is just begging for any manner of comfort fare, especially...well...sausage, white bean and broccoli rabe soup!

 

As good as it is now, it is quite young.  Give it a year or two (or seven), and it'll keep getting better. 

 

As I type this, I am warming up a bit of the soup here at the shop, and, as the smell hits my senses, my brain instantly jumps into a Sangiovese jones. 

 

But, I'll be a good adult, and not drink at lunch today...

 

...tonight, however, I can't make such a promise. 

 

You may order by emailing info@mcf-rarewine.com or calling 212.255.8870.

 

Matt Franco

MCF Rare Wine, Ltd

249 West 13th Street NYC 10011

212.255.8870