La Bollina Corte Medicea Eklektos Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

This wine represents the pinnacle of Tuscany's Super Tuscan movement, where producers abandoned traditional regulations to craft exceptional wines using international varieties. Luca Maroni awarded it 99 points and named it Best Italian Wine of the Year, recognising its perfect balance of structure, tannins, and complex flavours. The wine showcases how Tuscan terroir can elevate Cabernet Sauvignon to world-class levels, combining the grape's natural power with the elegance that Italian winemaking brings.

Super Tuscans emerged in the 1970s when innovative Tuscan producers began using international grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon instead of traditional Sangiovese. By doing so, they forfeited their prestigious regional classifications but gained creative freedom to make exceptional wines. This Eklektos exemplifies the movement's success - it's a Tuscan wine made with Bordeaux grapes that has achieved international acclaim and represents the best of Italian innovation.

Serve this wine at 16-18°C to allow its complex flavours of plums, blackcurrant, and dark chocolate to fully express themselves. Decant it 30-60 minutes before serving to soften the robust tannins and enhance the mocha and spice notes. The wine's full-bodied structure makes it perfect for rich dishes like grilled steaks, aged cheeses, or hearty pasta with meat sauces that can match its intensity.

The 2018 vintage in Tuscany was characterised by excellent growing conditions that produced wines with exceptional concentration and balance. This particular wine has had sufficient time to integrate its powerful tannins while maintaining its vibrant fruit character. At five years of age, it's entering its optimal drinking window where the initial intensity has mellowed into a more harmonious expression, though it has the structure to continue evolving for several more years.

While sharing Cabernet Sauvignon's characteristic blackcurrant and structured tannins, this Tuscan expression brings a distinctly Italian personality with warmer climate fruit intensity and Mediterranean herb influences. The Tuscan terroir adds layers of complexity that differ from Bordeaux's more restrained style, creating a wine that's both powerful and elegant. The result is a more immediately approachable wine that still maintains the variety's renowned ageing potential.