Avignonesi Desiderio Toscana (Merlot) - 2021 (750ml)

Producer's Notes:

Desiderio was a bull which lived on Avignonesi’s Capezzine farm more than one hundred years ago. The largest bull in Tuscany at that time, this majestic animal helped define the Chianina cattle race, specific to the Bistecca Fiorentina. It came as a natural choice to dedicate this Merlot to the beloved bull as a testimony to the wines’ origin. This is Merlot from Tuscany at its best.

On the label next to our bull Desiderio, there is also a small kangaroo, to remember our winemaker Ashleigh Seymour. After being part of our team for many years, she decided to return to her birth country Australia to embark on new adventures.

Explosive olfactory impact. The wide aromatic bouquet ranges from cherry and plum jam to notes of black tea, rhubarb, and graphite, and final touches of cardamom. The entrance is bursting. On the palate it is enveloping and deep, accompanied by a silky and linear tannin typical of the structure of Tuscan Merlot. Tastefully juicy and in symbiosis with the olfactory notes, it gives notes of coconut and black pepper in the aftertaste.

93 points Vinous Media

The 2021 Desiderio wafts up with a darkly floral blend of wilted violet, chalk dust and wild blueberry scents. It's silken in feel, with crisp wild berry fruit and citrus tones that swirl across a core of salty minerals. This leaves the palate reeling with youthful tension. It's tannic and long yet wonderfully balanced, leaving a resonance of lavender that lingers on.  - By Eric Guido on February 2025