Maestracci E Prove 2004 – A Rough Bandit from Corsica

Domaine Maestracci E Prove 2004 is a big-hearted Corsican red wine which you can learn to love. I first tried a glass on its own without food and, to be honest, it was a bit much.  It is a frankly tannic wine, just this side of “rough.”   I felt a bit defeated.  A week later I opened a second bottle with dinner, and it was an entirely different wine.  It was still a rustic bandit, but the strength of the wine stood up to the rich taste of cheese and beef.

Since the arrival of the Phoenicians around 570 B.C., Corsica has produced a lot of wine in steep, coastal terrain.   Production increased after 1950 when the Pieds-Noirs, ethnically French emigrants fleeing unrest in Algeria, arrived to plant vineyards.  Until recently most Corsican wine stayed on the island.  We are lucky now to be able to try it.

E Prove mixes Grenache and Syrah grapes – grown widely throughout the south of France – with Nielluccio, an ancient local variety.  Once you overcome the initial astringency, the wine has a taste which is closer to tomatoes than cherries.  This wine offers an expansive warmth beneath the brusque greeting of the tannins.  Drinking E Prove is like meeting a shepherd on a dirt track who smiles unexpectedly.  You won’t need a wine glass for this one; a short tumbler would be just about right.

At Dedalus for $12/Bottle

Tuta 1/12/09