MCF Rare Wine
A Super (Tuscan) Story
It’s a very common story.
And by ‘common’, I, of course, mean ‘if you wrote this into a movie script, they’d tell you to come up with something a bit less fairy tale’…
- A legendarily catastrophic event, the 1966 Florence Flood, occurs.
- The city’s collection of the most priceless books and works of art on Earth is threatened.
- A Parisian historian of Iranian descent, Amineh Pakravan, rushes to help dig them from the mud.
- She meets a Tuscan man named Enzo Papi, they fall in love, and purchase land in the Northern Maremma with an ancient, run-down farmhouse.
- There, they have nothing (no electricity, no running water) but their love of the land and its natural beauty and a sense that it will all work out somehow.
- They begin purchasing parcels of deserted vineyards, and slowly learn to make wine.
- Their first commercial release was the 2004 vintage.
The full story of Amineh Pakravan’s life is even more cinema-script-y, with her story as he daughter of a prominent General/Politician/Diplomat under the Shah, and all that happened in Iran during the 60s/70s.
But what about the wines? After all, that’s the real reason you’re still reading this. Pakravan Papi makes wines in your classic Maremma, or dare I say ‘Super’ Tuscan, style. They blend a local strain of Sangiovese known as Piccolo with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cab Franc.
These aren’t, however, the wines you typically picture when you think of this category…you know, the ones with shimmering power and…aspirational pricing. These are balanced, humble, pure expressions of the Maremma, with no makeup or polish, and that come in at almost perplexingly affordable price tags.
It’s easy to be dismissive of wines of this category…just like it’s easy for the snootiest restaurant goers to be dismissive of the old-school Italian restaurants that dot the cityscape…you know, the neighborhood ones that serve totally delicious, solid-plus Italian food, but that aren’t written up constantly by the hype machines that drive most of the hard-to-get resys.
But, in the end, totally delicious, well made, and authentic wines, that go perfectly with totally delicious, well-made and authentic food are…
delicious…
(and I love the almost cartoonishly classic Tuscan labels, too)
PAKRAVAN PAPI
Toscana Rosso Gabbriccio 2018 - the Gabriccio is their middle offering, and is made entirely of Sangiovese Piccolo. It’s a unique expression of Sangiovese, showing a richer red fruit profile and slightly more power than you’d expect from, say, a Chianti, but it’s still a wine of finesse and balance. It spends 12 months in tonneaux, 4 months in concrete and then another year ageing in bottle. It really is kind of the platonic ideal of a Italian restaurant wine - rich, full, structured and yet balanced and nuanced.
Toscana Rosso Cancellaia di Riparbella 2020 - the Cancellaia is the classic Maremma Bordeaux blend of 60/40 Cabernet and Cab Franc, but where so many of them are dark fruit wrecking balls, this is more chiseled, focused and mineral to the core. What I really love about it is how the Cab Franc sings through loudly and clearly, and does so with more of a Loire accent than a Bordelaise one. Muscular Cabernet Sauvignon, herbaceous. Cab Franc, expressed through that dark, deeply mineral Maremma lens. And it’s less than $50?!?!
You may also order by replying to this message or calling 212.255.8870.
Matt Franco
MCF Rare Wine, Ltd
249 West 13th Street NYC 10011
212.255.8870
Looking for a wine you loved from a past newsletter or a favorite you can't find anywhere? Email Raphael at raphael@mcf-rarewine.com, and we'll do our best to find it for you!
