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Tag Archives: Sangiovese

Budget Wine Review: Vasco Sassetti Il Ginepro Sangiovese Rosso Toscano IGT 2017

21 Friday Dec 2018

Posted by Dwight Furrow in Budget Wines, Wine Reviews

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Italian Wine, Sangiovese

il geneproThe Sassetti family has produced wines in the Montalcino region of Tuscany since the early 1900’s. They make a passable Brunello; the wine under review is their entry level Sangiovese. This wine does not meet minimal standards of modern winemaking. If you own a bottle, get thee to a drain.

It’s swarming with “brett”, the product of the brettanomyces yeast that causes band aid, sweaty saddles and barnyard aromas. When balanced and complementing other aromas, “brett” can add interest and depth to a wine. But in this wine the band-aid aroma is overwhelming. There is some black cherry and spicy anise lurking there but it’s hard to find with the plastic, chemical note so prominent.

On the palate, black licorice, leather and blueberry dominate but the acidity is hard and sour and the tannins bitter and abrasive with overt oak on the finish. I love rustic, Italian wines but I found this an utter disaster.

This is part of Total Wine’s Winery Direct program, which allows Total Wine to buy from smaller wineries at reduced prices. I seldom have the opportunity to shop at Total Wine; this purchase suggests I’m not missing much.

The only hope of getting through this bottle is to pair it with pizza loaded with cheese and something lean and hard in the headphones, like The Clash’s Should I Stay or Should I Go.

Score: 78

Price: $10

Alc: 13.5%

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Montepulciano: Where Medieval Meets Postmodernity

23 Monday Jul 2018

Posted by Dwight Furrow in Travel, Wine Culture

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Montepulciano, Sangiovese, Tuscany

montepulcianoOn Day 2 of our tour of Tuscany, we are still in the province of Siena where the walled village of Montepulciano serves up medieval and Renaissance buildings decked out in the postmodern finery of B and B’s and curio shops. If you have a fascination for castles, fortified villages and sweeping views of montepulciano-groundthe countryside it’s hard to beat Montepulciano, although its old world charm must accommodate thousands of weekly visitors.

The wine made from grapes grown in vineyards surrounding the village, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, was once highly favored by Tuscan nobility. The more famous Brunello di Montalcino, produced in the nearby village of Montalcino, from the same Sangiovese clone, is a relative newcomer having been created as a wine region only about 130 yrs. ago. Unfortunately, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano joined Chianti in making cheap table wine in the 1960’s and 1970’s and lost its lustrous reputation. It is now undergoing a  renaissance of its own, as producers turn back toward quality. With the stratospheric prices of Brunello, these wines offer a quality alternative at a relative bargain. (Note: the regional wine Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is not to be confused with the grape varietal montepulciano which is cultivated in d’Abruzzo among other places and makes a usually unimpressive table wine.)

montepulciano-talosaBrunello differs from Vino Nobile di Montepulciano in that the latter can be blended with 30% of other authorized grape varieties, including Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, while Brunello must be 100% Sangiovese. In addition, Vino Nobile need be aged for only 2 years (3 for Riserva); the requirements for Brunello are 5 years of aging (at least 2 in bottle) before release.

After hiking up the hill from the parking lot to the village, we entered an unassuming storefront only to descend four stories down to Talosa Winery’s 16th century cellars where we tasted their Rosso, Vino Nobile, and Vino Nobile Riserva paired with some bruschetta and Italian cold cuts. Some of their original 115 hectolitre barrels from their first vintage in 1972 are still in use. These underground cellars maintain a constant temperature and humidity throughout the year with no temperature control required. Their Rosso table wine, and their Vino Nobile, both blends that included some Merlot, were rustic and earthy with quite a bit of grain on the tannins. Their Riserva and Selectione, both 100% Sangiovese from 2014 were more elegant, especially the Selectione “Filai Lunghe”, a wonderfully dense, complex wine made from their best grapes, although it’s not available in the U.S. They make a Super Tuscan as well, a soft, herbal-inflected wine of 100% Merlot. The Riserva at 23 Euros on their website is a excellent value if you enjoy Italian rusticity.

After emerging from Talosa we walked around the block and descended into another remarkable cellar of Cantina De’Ricci, this one dating to 1337.  This stone cathedral with thirty foot high ceilings packed with massive barrels was awe-inspiring. We then entered a large dining room where we witnessed a cooking demonstration by renowned Italian cookbook author and local resident Pamela Sheldon Jones. As we sipped wine and consumed a selection of salamis, cheeses, and de ricci cellarbruschettas we learned to make picci, the traditional hand-rolled pasta from this region and Aglione Sauce, a tomato sauce featuring aglione, a type of green garlic indigenous to the region.montepulciano picci and aglione As for the wines, their Vino di Rosso, made of 100% Sangiovese was bright and full of flavor, bold acidity and a wonderful, satisfying finish. This wine sparkles with minerality and for 12 euros might be the best value I found all week. The Nobile di Montepulciano.was also a surprise. Very complex with warm spice notes but with a medium body, almost pinot-like, this was the best “Nobile” I tasted on the day and at 20 euros, it shows the kind of value available here. Their Super Tuscan ‘Il Vignone”, a blend of Cab/Merlot blend, was a bit simple but featured a rich midpalate that brought out the sweetness in the tomato sauce we were served.montepulciano-jones

The lunch was brought to a rousing finish with a serving of their Vin Santo di Montepulciano 1995. This beautiful, delicate wine was aged in small barrels for 12 yrs.

Of course by mid-afternoon we needed more wine and food. The next stop was one of the larger wineries in Montepulciano, Avignonesi Winery. This is a certified bio-dynamic winery that is experimenting with a unique circular planting method that is designed to answer questions about how planting density influences wine quality. Rows are planted from the circumference of the circle toward the center. The ring on the outer circumference contains 3000 plants per hectare while the ring on the inner circle near the center has a density of 10,000 plants per hectare. The grapes are harvested by ring and each ring is vinified and aged separately so after 6 years then can evaluate which planting density produces the best wine. So far they have concluded that a planting density of 7000 plants per hectare with 1 meter between plants is best. Greater density means the plants have to compete for resources sending the roots deeper into the rich, clay soils in which Sangiovese thrives. The vineyard uses a bush-trained system to optimize sun exposure and requires hand harvesting and special machinery for the vineyard work.

Avignonesi’s  wines included a perfectly balanced Chardonnay, a blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet called Grifi that featured a compelling earthiness and an explosive finish, an elegant Vino Nobile, 100% Sangiovese, aged 18 months in French oak, and their very refined Merlot/Sangiovese blend called 50/50. These wines are overall the most sophisticated and expensive wines we tasted today. But the stars of the show were their two dessert wines—the Vin Santo made from Malvasia and Trebbiano, and their red desert wine Occhio Di Pernice Vin Santo Di Montepulciano, from Sangiovese grapes, both from the 2002 vintage. Both wines were exquisite albeit very expensive.

Stored straw mats used to make Vin Santo

Avignonesi is really best known for this red dessert wine which is both rare and difficult to produce . The grapes are harvested early in September and the berries are carefully hand selected. Then they are dried on matts for 5 months turning to raisins before being pressed. They use a mother yeast that is 100 yrs. old to start the fermentation, 2 liters of mother yeast for 43 liters of pressed grapes. The fermentation starts in the summer and stops in the winter, and the wine is then aged for 10 years during which time 40%-50% of the wine is lost to evaporation. After 10 yrs. the barrels are tested, the lots blended in stainless steel and kept for an additional year before bottling, after which they are held for 1 yr. before release. It takes 7 kilos of grapes to make one 1/2 bottle of Vin Santo. A 375 ml.  bottle of Occhio Di Pernice sells for 210 euros for very good reasons. But it is an extraordinary wine, complex and earthy with caramel, coffee, and prune presented on a frame of syrup and searing acidity. This is a very serious winery for which there is no end to their commitment to quality.

The day of winetasting finished, we had dinner in a restored castle, parts of which date back to 800. Father and son team Salvatore and Antonio Gangale (the original Salvatore of Salvatore’s restaurant in San Diego) spent over twenty years meticulously restoring Castello delle Serre and converting it into a high end B&B.  Restoring fortresses to a lush splendor they never had seems to be a thing in Tuscany as we view them through the lens of some combination of symbol, illusion and irony, a contrived nostalgia, that is of course pleasurable as long as you don’t confuse it with authenticity.

The dinner was as usual excellent. After a day of salamis, lomo, 10-12 different types of cheese and plenty of pasta, the first course—a salad of lightly pickled zucchini with mint was beyond satisfying. This tour was designed and executed by Chris Gluck at The Wine Vault and Bistro in San Diego.

 

 

Budget Wine Review: Villa Antinori IGT Toscana 2014

13 Friday Apr 2018

Posted by Dwight Furrow in Budget Wines, Wine Reviews

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Italian Wine, Sangiovese, Tuscan wine

villa antinoriThis wine exemplifies what I love about Italian wine. Not that it’s a great wine but that it’s charms are distinctively Italian—beautiful aromatics with an earthy, austere, bittersweet quality on the palate that exudes a tough, resilient spirit.

It isn’t surprising that Antinori’s wines are representative. Antinori is the 10th oldest family owned business in the world tracing its lineage and winemaking back to 1385. They were at the forefront of the Super Tuscan wine revolution with their Tignorello and Solaia brands, and are one of the largest producers in Italy. A winery steeped in tradition confident in who they are doesn’t have to concede to the contemporary fondness for plush and smooth.

This is one of their entry level red wines.

Effusive aromas of ripe, red berry, dusty earth, hazelnut and licorice darkened by a bit of cedar reveal a strong personality–for the price a spectacular nose. On the palate there is some concentration up front but the wine quickly flattens out and lacks depth, feeling angular, as if dismissing any need for seduction. Strong acidity and some grain on the tannins makes for a mouthwatering, rustic, sour cherry-inflected finish.

Acerbic and gritty but expressive like one of Dylan’s rants.

Score: 87

Price: $18 average but $14 at Costco.

Alc: 13%

Tech Notes: The blend is mostly Sangiovese with a bit of Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah. Aged 12 Months in oak casks.

Budget Wine Review: Kirkland Signature Chianti Classico Riserva 2014

06 Friday Apr 2018

Posted by Dwight Furrow in Budget Wines, Wine Reviews

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Chianti, Italian Wine, Sangiovese

kirkland chianti classicoClassic Vin Ordinaire. This is another well-priced but not entirely satisfactory foray into European wine regions for Costco. It’s from the prime growing region of Chianti Classico, the original Chianti region that has higher quality grapes and more strict standards than the surrounding areas that are designated as simply Chianti. And It’s labeled Riserva which in Chianti means it spends a minimum of two years in oak and 3 months in the bottle before release. The price tag, $8.49, is extraordinary for a Riserva.

It’s produced by Villa Cafaggio, a well-known producer.

Be excited about the price but you’re not getting a lot more quality than is typical of cheap Chianti in this price range. The nose is pleasant showing dark cherry, dusty earth, and loads of licorice, certainly darker fruit than standard Chianti. The palate is typical sour cherry and has a bit of roundness up front, but turns thin and hollow at midpalate, lacking concentration, and the finish is marked by coarse wood tannin and the characteristic acidic bite. Quite rustic. This is slightly elevated cheap Chianti, no less, but no more.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s worth every penny and will wash down a plate of pasta and red sauce as well as the next wine but it’s not a steal despite the promising information on the label.

Any wine that brings together John Lee Hooker, Carlos Santana, Robert Cray, Bonnie Raitt, and Ry Cooder for some “Boogie Chillun” can be rustic all night long.

Score: 85

Price: $8.49 at Costco

Alc: 13.5%

Budget Wine: Banfi Chianti Superiore 2014

23 Friday Dec 2016

Posted by Dwight Furrow in Budget Wines, Wine Reviews

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Chianti, Sangiovese

banfi chiantiThis is not your standard bottom shelf Chianti. It’s a riper, darker-fruited Chianti, with some raisin notes and a layer of milk chocolate–but also plenty of prominent earth notes and tobacco to redeem it. With aeration the more typical sour cherry flavor becomes more apparent.

In the mouth, the introduction is bold with an impression of sweetness but the midpalate turns angular and hard with a very dry, course finish featuring tart sour cherry and spice. This is an interesting evolution from plump to austere leaving an overall impression of rusticity. Tannins are sandy and acidity ample enough to give the wine life, albeit a life that ends in tragedy.

Superiore on the label in Chianti simply means the grapes come from one of the non-Classico sub-regions of Chianti and the wine must be aged nine months, of which 3 months must be in bottle. This version from Banfi was aged 4-5 months in French barrique and includes 10% Cabernet Sauvignon as well as a bit of Canaiolo with the Sangiovese.

A unique expression, riper with more oak treatment and sort of brash especially as it finishes, it’s not classic but stays close enough to the real thing to give satisfaction at its price.

Score: 88

Price: $11

Alc.: 12.5%

Corey Harris’s Santoro has the right mix of earth and blues to resonate with the spirit of this wine.

Budget Wine: Primosole Sangiovese Puglia 2013

11 Friday Mar 2016

Posted by Dwight Furrow in Budget Wines, Wine Reviews

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Italian Wine, Puglia, Sangiovese

primosoleWell. March darker in color and in flavor compared to inexpensive Chianti from cooler climes. Black cherry and baked earth with a little cinnamon yield a simple but pleasant nose.

But the palate is thin showing blackberry and charred wood, with high acidity and grainy, rough tannins. Rustic but without the richness to be stalwart, you will need food to temper the hard finish. It’s tolerable but you can do better.

The grapes are grown organically and it has a bright cheery label so there is that.

It’ll go down easy with some Joe Ely Hard Livin’

Score: 81

Price: $8

Alc: 12.5%

Wine Review: Piandaccoli Cosmus Chianti Riserva 2012

09 Tuesday Feb 2016

Posted by Dwight Furrow in Wine Reviews

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Chianti, Italian Wines, Sangiovese

cosmus chiantiItalians are famous for liking wines with high acidity. But many Italian wines also have tantalizing bitter flavors that give them dimension and personality. This one gets its distinctive  personality from that bitterness highlighted against unusual wood notes.

An intriguing nose of black cherry, baked earth with balsamic and rosemary hints, and cedar notes playing in the background.

On the palate, ingratiating berry notes provide an entre with good intensity promising hedonic bliss, but the midpalate shifts to a different register swelling with a generous dose of wood and bitter herbs that carry through the finish, giving the wine a rustic edge. The tannins are soft and fine, gently persistent, so the overall vibe is of rough-hewn elegance, down to earth but with lots of flavor. Medium body and medium acidity.

An interesting Chianti and a good value.

100% Sangiovese, aged for 12 months in large 55 hectolitre barrels and smaller casks, and for 12 months in the bottle.

Pair with some funky elegance, Dr. John “I Walk on Guilded Splinters”

Score: 89

Price: $18

Alc: 14%

Wine Review: Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG

27 Monday Apr 2015

Posted by Dwight Furrow in Wine Reviews

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Chianti, Italian Wine, Sangiovese

I love Chianti for one reason. The good ones have dusty, baked earth notes that remind me of country roads on warm summer days.  It’s one of those iconic flavor profiles; and this wine has it in spades. But, in addition, the ripe fruit notes glow, the finish is tense and active, with bitter herbal notes supported by ravishing acidity and firm tannins. It’s so Italian you expect Puccini to come pouring out of the bottle.

The classic sour cherry aromas are there but are over-ruled by unusually ripe berry fruit, infused with clove and dried herb, but all in service to those lovely, dusty, earth notes. The palate has a juicy surface but the dry and earthy underbrush gives it complexity, set off by subtle vanilla on the back of the midpalate.  The soft, supple, medium body lulls you into complacency before the big finish hits.

Sturdy yet agile like a great athlete, an outstanding wine. The blend is 80% Sangiovese, 10% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Ruffino is one of the most consistent of the Tuscan producers but this Gran Selezione is a cut above their other offerings. Gran Selezione is Chianti Classico’s new designation indicating the highest quality.  The grapes must be owned by the winery, minimum alcohol must be 13% instead of 12.5% for Riserva, and the wine must be aged for 30 months compared to 24 for  Riserva. Like the Riserva, the Gran Selezione must be 80% Sangiovese with the rest made up of Syrah, Merlot,  Cabernet or local varieties such as Canaiolo and Colorino,

There is too much country in this wine to drink with an aria. Here’s a medley of (expertly rendered)  Italian folk music from Domo Emigrantes

Score: 92

Price: $35 available at Wine Chateau

Alc: 14.5%

Industry Sample

Budget Wine: Candoni Chianti NV

23 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by Dwight Furrow in Budget Wines, Wine Reviews

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Chianti, Italian Wine, Sangiovese

candoniAmong all wines, fine as well as cheap, the contrast between old world and new world is breaking down as an international style using ripe grapes and soft tannins seems to be what the casual wine drinker likes. But occasionally you run into a hold out, an unreconstructed celebration of dirt and acid.

This Chianti is a throw back to the old days. Interesting meaty aromas greet you, like a hunk of salami on top of berry, hints of sour cherry and some bell pepper highlights. Strange but interesting and worth the price of admission.

The palate opens with a little juice but turns thin and acidic. Low- intensity fruit prevails, bitter on the back of the midpalate but with some redemptive tannic grip on the finish. Take- no-prisoners rustic.

There is a place for wines like this if only to remind you of the peculiarities of history—sort of like Civil War re-enactments and Moon Pies.

A blend of Sangiovese and Merlot if that matters.

Sip while savoring the dulcet tones of the Standells: Love that “Dirty Water” baby

Score: 82

Price: $8

Alc: 12.5%

Ageing Report: Seghesio Sangiovese 2007

25 Monday Aug 2014

Posted by Dwight Furrow in Ageing Report, Wine Reviews

≈ 2 Comments

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Sangiovese, Sonoma Wines

seghesio sangioThe vast majority of wine reviews are about recently released wines, and for good reason. The purpose of most wine reviews is to guide consumers, and only recently released wines will be widely available for consumers to purchase. Furthermore, the vast majority of wine sold in the U.S will not age well beyond a year or two anyway so there would be no point in tracking their development.

However, this practice of reviewing only recent releases ignores the fact that age vastly improves wines of quality and serious wine connoisseurs have a deep interest in knowing which wines will age well. Wine writing that ignores the aging process misses one of the most significant dimensions of the wine-drinking experience. So, on occasion, I think it is useful to write about wines that have been cellared, especially when we can answer questions about wines that lack the reputation of  being age-worthy.

We know that quality Sangiovese will age well—Brunello di Montalcino and Chianti Classico Reserva, despite some inconsistency,  are among the world’s great wines for age-ability. But what about American Sangiovese? Will it stand up to the Italians?

Seghesio Family Vineyards is one of the more well-established Sonoma brands having produced wine there since 1895. Although best known for their Zinfandel, they produce several Italian varietals as well and are a good representation of quality American Sangiovese.At 10 years post-vintage, this wine is still going strong and is, I would think, now at its peak.

Still a bright ruby with little rim variation and no bricking, it shows ripe, red plum on the nose, just on the edge of raisin but the fruit is reticent enough for dried floral notes to present. But the most prominent characteristics are oak-derived aromas, vanilla and pencil lead with some freshly-turned earth. The fruit is darker on the palate but quickly shades to tea and is packed with scents of wood and chocolate. This never was a fruit bomb and at this point the fruit is really taking a back seat to polished and refined secondary flavors.

The evolution of textures on the palate is lovely—initially soft and round, the mid-palate swells with ample acidity  giving way to a medium length finish with finely knit tannins, drying but with no bite. This is not a rustic wine; it is pleasant, elegant, and comfortable with nothing out of balance. Just a bit of heat and bitterness on the finish from the alcohol.

Compared to Italian versions, American Sangiovese tends to be riper, with higher alcohol, slightly reduced acidity, and liberal use of typically American oak.  Seghesio’s Sangiovese fits that description. But despite the differences in approach it is still recognizably Sangiovese and has aged wonderfully. However, although the best Brunellos can age 20 years or more, I would drink this in the next few years as the fruit is becoming less prominent.

Opened: August 2014

Score: 90

Alc: 15%

Price: $30 when released

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