19 Mar Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Bulichella 2021 Rubino IGT, Toscana, Italy

The annual Slow Wine Tour came to Los Angeles this past week. The Slow Wine Guide, which originated in Italy and also exists in the U.S., promotes small-scale winemakers who are using traditional techniques, working with respect for the environment and terroir, and safeguarding the incredible biodiversity of grape varieties that are part of our heritage. The tour features mostly Italian producers and one of the producers who came to town was Nicolò Miyakawa of Bulichella Winery in Suvereto on the Tuscan Coast. I met with him for lunch and he shared a bottle of his wine that caught my attention. A Super Tuscan blend, it was medium-bodied, fresh, and delicious and that is why the Bulichella 2021 Rubino IGT, Toscana, Italy is the Please The Palate wine of the week.

About

Bulichella is located on the upper part of the Val di Cornia valley along the Tuscan Coast, between Bolgheri and Maremma. The name Bulichelli comes from an old verb for the sound of the termal bubbles coming from the thermal springs nearby. Bulichella was founded in 1983 by Hideyuki Miyakawa and Marisa Bassano. Nicolò shared his grandparents beautiful love story. In 1960, at the age of twenty-two, Hideyuki Miyakawa traveled from his home of Maebashi, Japan to Rome, Italy on his Yamaguchi 125cc motorcycle. He worked in Rome during the Olympic Games, but his love for cars took him north to the Turin Motor Show. It was at the car show that Hideyuki saw a young Italian girl dressed in a kimono to present the new Lancia model. It was Marisa Bassano, a young woman from Piemonte with a passion for Japan. A spark was ignited.

Marisa traveled to Japan to study Japanese in Hiroshima and became a bilingual teacher. Hideyuki stayed in Italy and the two formed a long distance relationship. Eventually Marisa moved back to Italy and she and Hideyuki married. The two lived in Piemonte and worked in car design. But Hideyuki and Marisa were ahead of their time. They traveled around the world. They had seven children, including three adopted children. And in 1980, they bought property in Tuscany. From the beginning, they embraced organic farming practices, becoming one of the first in Italy to do so. They turned Bulichella into a social farming project aimed at welcoming and reintegrating young people into society through immersive contact with nature. And, they transformed their 42 hectare property into a sanctuary of biodiversity.

Today, the third generation of Bulichella is involved. Nicolò Miyakawa is the son of Hideyuki’s second child Zenjiro. Nicolò was born in Torino. He went to Japan at the age of 15 and studied at an American School and the went to England for university where he studied international politics. He and his wife decided to join the family business as owners with his grandfather.

Tasting Notes

The Bulichella 2021 Rubino, Toscana, Italy is a classic “Super-Tuscan” blend of 50% Sangiovese, 25% Merlot, and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Rubino is the historic label of the estate as it was the first wine produced at Bulichella. And the label, created by Nicolò and his cousins, has a family of wild boars on it, representing Hideyuki, Marisa, and their seven children. The wine is light-bodied and fresh, thanks to its proximity to the sea and the mineral soils of the Metallic Hills. The wine is a dark ruby red color with a clarity to it. The nose offers pretty aromas of red fruits and plum, as well as floral and leather notes. The wine is medium bodied with fresh acidity and smooth tannins.

Food Pairing

The medium-bodied texture of the wine matched with the smooth tannins and fresh finish makes this a versatile food-pairing wine. Enjoy this wine with pasta dishes, chicken, salmon, pork, and cheese. I enjoyed the wine with mozzarella and prosciutto and a smoked salmon salad.

Where To Purchase

At the current time, Bulichella is not imported into the U.S. Hopefully that will change but you can visit them in Italy. They have an agritourism with rooms that offer panoramic views and apartments nestled among the Syrah vineyards. So, plan a trip to the Tuscan Coast and visit Bulichella!