Wines of Tuscany- |
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Notes and impressions from a Tuscan tasting - Saturday, June 23, 2001, at the Wine Exchange in Orange, CA. Twenty-one wines were poured. |
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Overall impressions: nice cross-section of Tuscans, covering some very basic wines along with some big guns. The Moris Farms "Super-Tuscan" was every bit "super," and a bit of a bargain compared to some of the other wines in the flight. Also, the Dievole Broccato was a major bargain, along with the Fanti Rosso, and many of the Chiantis, such as the Dievole and the Carobbio CCR. As noted above, I thought the Tignanello was a bit eclipsed by the majority of the much fruitier wines in the tasting. |
1999 Montenidoli
Vernaccia di San Gimignano. $10.99.
Off-white color. Clean, fruity, and slightly nutty nose. Lightly
fruity, with touches of nut through long aftertaste. 1998 Fattoria
Rosso di Montepulciano. $9.99. Medium garnet color. Nice fruity,
floral and anise-infused nose. Fairly simple on the palate, with
a light mouthfeel, good balance, and medium finish. 1998 Fanti
Rosso Di Montalcino. $14.99. Medium garnet color. Nose of dried
cherry, cheese, shoe polish, and anise. Medium-full mouthfeel, very
tasty fruit, and very good balance, with long finish. 1998 Cantina
Cooperativo Morellino di Scansano Vigna Benefezio. $15.99.
Light-medium garnet color. Slightly restrained nose of very nice
fruit, floral and stemmy aromas. Slightly dry mouthfeel, lots of
fruit with a touch of oak, very good balance, and long finish. 1998 Castello
di Farnetella Colli Senesi. $6.99. Medium ruby color. Nose is
a mass of oak, sawdust, cheese and cassis. Somewhat puckery mouthfeel,
very good balance, and very long finish, with a tannic slightly
oaky aftertaste. 1998 Tenuta
di Ghizzano Delle Colline Pisane. $10.99. Medium ruby color.
Lightly burnished and smoky cassis and floral aromas, with just
a touch of cheese. Full mouthfeel, very good balance, long, slightly
bitter tannic finish. 1998 Dievole
Chianti Classico. $13.99. Medium ruby color. Nose of dense cassis,
shoe polish, and cheese. Tasty off-dry mouthfeel, long finish. 1998 Fattoria
di Felsina Chianti Classico. $18.99. Medium-dark ruby color.
Burnished nose of toast, dried cherry, cheese, and sweet sawdust.
Lots of very nice cherry fruit, somewhat balanced to the acid side
of the spectrum, long finish. 1997 Castello
di Gabbiano Chianti Classico Riserva. $11.99. Medium
garnet ruby color. Ripe and very burnished in the nose, with a light
fruity mouthfeel, and slightly overripe fruit. 1997 Castellare
Chianti Classico Riserva. $19.99. Medium garnet color.
Nice complex, if less than effusive aromas of dried cherry, cinnamon,
spice, and cheese toast. Stemmy and fleshy on the palate, blanace
to the acid side of things, with a nice grip during the long finish. 1997 Carobbio
Chianti Classico Riserva. $23.99. Dark ruby color. Quite
a fruit-ball in the nose, with aromas of sweet cherry, sawdust,
and shoe polish. Moderately dry mouthfeel, tasty fruit is not overdone,
yet the wine feel big on the palate, with a long slightly oaked
finish. 1997 Cennatoio
Chianti Classico Riserva. $29.99. Light medium garnet
color. Complex and very interesting nose of dried cherry, pine,
caper, cheese, toast, and balsamic aromas. Moderately dry fruity
mouthfeel; fruit seems to fall off a bit toward finish. 1995 Tenuta
Friggiali Brunello di Montalcino. $44.99. Medium garnet color.
Nose of kalamata olive, toasted grains, and slightly burnished cherry
fruit. Full mouthfeel, flavors of toasty dried cherry and anise,
very good balance, and long finish.
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1995 Lisini
Brunello di Montalcino. $39.99. Light medium garnet color. Nose
of toasty and smoky cheese, bing cherry, and anise. Plenty of fruit
and oak on the palate, very good balance - though acids predominate,
long finish. 1995 Fattoi
Brunell di Montalcino. $49.99. Medium garnet color. Fabulous
nose of burnished black cherry and cheese toast, with lots of herbaceous
qualities. Slightly sweet burnished and ripe mouthfeel, very good
concentration, of flavors, excellent balance, long finish. 1997 Dievole
Broccato. $21.99. Dark ruby color. Big beautiful sweet floral
and stemmy nose; massively fruity. Full mouthfeel, with lots of
cherry/cassis fruit and olive flavors, excellent balance, and long
finish. 100% Sangiovese. 1997 Vignaveccia
Raddese $29.99.Medium-dark garnet color. Ripe, sawdusty and
cheesy in the nose. Slightly sweet mouthfeel, lots of fruit, and
tasty long finish. 100% Sangiovese. 1997 Fattoria
del Cerro Merlot Poggio Golo. $31.99. Dark ruby color.
Stemmy, ripe and fruity in the nose, with a slightly burnished sawdusty
quality. Fleshy mouthfeel,with a burnished quality to the fruit
that seems to haide a bit from the oak and pine woods. 1998 Moris
Farms Avvoltore Maremma Toscana. $34.99. Dark ruby color. Fabulous
nose of dark cherry, anise, toast, and parmesano. Big and fruity
mouthfeel, almost crunchy in texture, with excellent balance and
a very long and smooth finish. Sangiovese, Cab and Syrah. 1998 Antinori
Tignanello. $57.99. Medium-dark garnet color. Nose of dried
black cherry, sawdust, tobacco, anise, and smoke. Medium-full mouthfeel,
tasty and toasty fruit, very good balance, and medium -long finish.
Nice enough wine, but a mild disappointment here, since the wine
seems less than spectactular right now. Obviously it's pretty young.
Maybe it's just resting, and will improve over the next several
years. 80% Sangiovese, with Cab and Can Franc. 1994 Brolio
Vin Santo. $11.99. Amber gold color. Nose of raisins, with a
touch of caramel and pecans. Flavors are something of a cross between
pecan pie and praline. Malvasia and Trebbiano. |
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Mail & Comments - Eric Anderson
