Whistling Eagle Sangiovese 2010 + Vegetable Torte

The region of Heathcote is fast becoming my go to region for quality Sangiovese as the areas seems to have enough warmth to ripen the variety without turning it into just another full bodied red. The Whistling Eagle vines are grown in the Greenstone area which comprises ancient soil sub-striates. What was surprising with this wine was that it was only medium bodied with some lovely sour notes so I decided to pair this with a vegetable torte.

Vegetable Torte

The best thing with this dish is you can use any vegetable that is left over in your fridge but in this version I decided to go with these.

1 bunch fresh asparagus ( I have them growing in my garden), sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 zucchini, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
125 g spinach
handful of fresh herbs from the garden
100 g parmesan, grated
250 g riccotta
250 g mascarpone
4 eggs, whisked
olive oil


Steam the asparagus and remove when done, 2 to 3 minutes. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Add oil to a pan and heat. Add onions and cook until soft but not brown. Add zucchini and cook until brown and then add garlic and cook for another minute. Add the spinach and cook until it starts to wilt. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool.

Add the asparagus and herbs to the cool mixture and then add the parmesan, riccotta, mascarpone and eggs and fold together. Place in a circular springform tin  and cook in oven for 25 - 35 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool before serving. Serve with a fresh mixed green salad.

Whistling Eagle Sangiovese 2010

This wines starts out light and bright with flavours of cherries and Italian herbs with more savoury than sweet notes. It is the sort of wine that I could easily such down no worries but it is the underlying structure that pulls my attention towards the serious side of the wine world. The drying structure pulls the wine long through my mouth with a light hand yet the wine still has depth of flavour. The true complexity of the wine took a few days to shine through but when it did this wine was lovely to drink.

Alcohol: 14.5%
Price: $28
Rated: 88+
Drink: 2014 - 2020