Showdown in Tuscany

[Andre]

Showdown in Tuscany

Cabernet Sauvignon Vs. Sangiovese.

Special Reserve June 17, 2004.

A great writer once wrote that life was nothing but imitation. I have found this hard to accept when young, but age added wisdom. We grow-up imitating our parents and surroundings and set the example for those who follow. Sometimes we rebel, and the presumed unique rebellion would lead us to imitate whatever was more influential than our official educators.

Such was the case of the young winemakers of the middle and late eighties in Tuscany.

The Italian wine industries catastrophic D.O.C system, established in the sixties, left little space for anything but imitation, and creativity, in most cases, went down the local drainage. The media dominated new world, along with the global village concept, allowed the young generation a ride to better business exploiting the very essence of what they grew on.

Following is some mixed grill on the 21st century plate.

Il Poggione Rosso 2000.

100% Sangiovese with just the right amount of chewy tannins, ripe fruits and tingling Italian acidity to be termed both interesting and a good value for thje money.

Drink now – 2005.

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Rosso di Monteopulciano Poliziano 2002

Smooth and well balanced wine developing from a rather gentle entry on the mouth and developing to become tasty. The 2002 vintage left enough fruits, tannins herbs and mild spice to be a first choice to match Carne with herbal sauce without having to worry about clashes.

Drink now.

Dogajolo, Carpineto 2002.

“Super” on a small scale.

Cabernet? Hmmmm…..right – there comes the oak. A medium bodied fairly simple Cabernet with new world ripe fruits and small oak flavorings that could have attributed this wine to almost any other wine country. Short and wine dimensional yet well made and well balanced with the oak.

Drink now.

Brunello di Montalcino Val di Suga 1994

Wow! Nothing like a well made Brunello when it starts to reach its peak. Full flavors of herbs, spices, nuts, dried fruits that keep surfacing as long as you enjoy this wine.

Contains all the pleasures of a true Brunello.

Drink now – 2012.

Summus Banfi 1994

Fame may yield expectations and expectations may bring the neighborhood down.

Very deep dark red towards Brownish colors.

Over ripe nose with concentrated fruits, cedar, Tobacco and plenty of soft oak. Mouth filing yet no longer with the right texture to term this wine anything close to “Super”.

Wish I had this wine younger.

Olmaia, Cabernet 1995.

A massive cabernet full of tannins while not all of them pleasant that require waiting at least 3 more years. The problem could be the lack of complexity to back up the aging.

Massive, yet one dimensional with little chance of ever reaching the level of an aged Brunello.

Brunello di Montalcino Col D’Orcia 1995A well-made rather simple Brunello with soft tannins balanced with ripe fruits, earthy flavors and spice. Anything short of a Riserva from this winery is bound to fall within this fairly simple frame.

Drink now – 2008.

Cabernet Sauvignon Farnito 1996

This wine had seen better days.

An Italian Cabernet with a new world attitude. Well made medium bodied Cabernet well balanced with oak and a mildly spiced finish. Although the wine was never complex, OI would have expected something more than this deflated shallow Cabernet.

Stick to the 1999 for now.

Mormoretto Cabernet Sauvignon, Frescobaldi 1996.

This is my choice of an Italian Cabernet with plenty of character to attribute it to Tuscany. Mild fruit, chewy tannins, spice and earthy flavors are perfectly balanced to unique rout other producers should aspire to head to,

Drink now – 2010.

Chianti Rufina Montesodi, Frescobaldi 1996.

Massive tannins, lots of tannins, grape tannins and perhaps too much of smaller barrels tannins seem to shut down this 8 year old long distant runner.

A breed of its own that requires too more years to open –up.

Massive yet am not sure if there is enough body to go along with this aggressive amount of tannins.

Will be interesting to follow as this one is heading to where few Chianti wines had headed before.

Parting from the familiar may result in sadness cured solely by the energies of the new.

Thank you for reading.