16 Jul Please The Palate Wine of the Week: La Badia 2024 Chill Ya Jolo Ciliegiolo, Toscana IGT

It is the season for chilling with friends at the beach or by the pool. So why not chill with a bottle of Chill Ya Jolo! The playful name and label are half the fun. The other half is how delicious and drinkable the wine is. That is why La Badia 2024 Chill Ya Jolo Ciliegiolo, Toscana IGT is the Please The Palate wine of the week.

About La Badia Chill Ya Jolo

Located in Chianti Classico in Tuscany, Badia a Coltibuono is famous for producing some of the best Chianti Classico wines. Located in Gaiole, one of the 14 municipalities in Chianti Classico, Badia a Coltibuono, or the “abbey of good culture,” was established in 1051 by San Giovanni Gualberto, founder of the Vallombrosan order and patron saint of the foresters, rangers, and parks. The monastery was active until Napoleon annexed it in 1810. The abbey was purchased by the Stucchi Prinetti family in 1846. The family sold wine to the local market and in bulk through the 1950s. In the late 1950s, Piero Stucchi Prinetti took charge and began bottling the best vintages of the estate Chianti Classico Riserva and selling them on the domestic and international markets. Sixth generation Roberto Stucchi, his siblings Emanuela and Paolo, and Managing Director Andrea Cabib manage the property today.

The primary grape of Chianti Classico is Sangiovese. But in a Chianti Classico wine, up to 20% of the grapes can include Canaiolo Nero, Colorino, Fogliatonda, Malvasia Nera, Mammolo, Pugnitello, Ciliegiolo, and international varieties, such as Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah. Ciliegiolo has been cultivated in the region for centuries but has lived in obscurity for the past decades. Fortunately, it is undergoing a renaissance in Tuscany and Liguria.

Ciliegiolo is a name that might seem like a tongue twister. It is pronounced chee-lee-eh-JOH-lo and is named after the Italian word for cherry, both because of its color and its flavors. Playing on the word Ciliegiolo, Badia a Coltibuono has produced Chill Ya Jolo, a brand new chillable red wine. If you can say “Chill Ya Jolo”, you can say “Ciliegiolo”.

Tasting Notes

This is an easy-drinking wine that is meant to be fun. The grapes were picked early, so sugar levels were low, and then fermented with native yeasts. The wine was then aged in stainless steel tanks for one month before being bottled and released. Best served with a chill on it, the vibrantly colored wine is equally bright, fresh, and juicy on the palate with aromas of cherry, rhubarb, and wild red berries, as well as notes of spice and soft tannins.

Food Pairing

With a name like “Chill Ya Jolo”, this is a wine to chill and enjoy yourself on a hot summer day! Enjoy it with a charcuterie plate, vegetable-based first courses, white meats, and grilled fish. I grilled a beautiful piece of Scottish salmon to enjoy with this wine by the pool.

Where To Purchase

Newly available in the US market, La Badia 2024 Chill Ya Jolo retails for $19.

Meet The Winemaker

Meet Roberto Stucchi of Badia a Coltibuono and get to know him in 30 questions on the Wine Soundtrack International podcast.

Read the story I wrote a few years ago in the Napa Valley Register: A Marker of Great Chianti Classico – Badia a Coltibuono – ‘The abbey of good culture’