Wines with pizza

[Florida Jim]

With homemade, grilled pizzas:

2000 Luce, La Vite Lucente IGT:

Cooperative effort of Frescobaldi and Mondavi; sangiovese nose with some merlot aromas; concentrated and structured on the palate with solid black and red fruit flavors, no overt oak and good balance; medium finish with some tannin.

I tend to stay away from Tuscan wines but George brought this and, as he says, I’d drink it again. Nothing to set it apart from the myriad of other IGT wines but certainly tasty and went well with the meal. Will age. RM Imports.

2001 Domaine Montaud, Minervois:

Old vine carignan that pumps out authentic and focused black fruit, earth, funk and mineral scents and flavors with excellent concentration and balance and a sense of place; good persistence and both more complex and more integrated than the preceding wine. Will age. Imported by Siema, LLC.

Aside: The Lucente was about $26, full retail, and the Montaude about $8, discounted. I preferred the Montaude but I could certainly see how someone would prefer the Lucente. But at these prices, the Minervois seems the better cellar candidate.

Best, Jim