Auslese, Cape Town
Tasted Friday, May 7, 2010 by rikipedia with 17 views
A Food and Wine evening with Super tuscan wines: Bolgheri is a small town on the Tuscan coast south of Pisa and Livorno. It is known for its Bordeaux-blends that tend to use Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc but add a portion of Sangiovese to give it some acidity. This style of wine originated in Tuscany in the early 1970s and went outside the DOC and DOCG boundaries by not using indigenous grape varieties. As such, they were often labelled as more modest Vino da Tavola or table wine before the advent of IGT.
The moniker "Super Tuscan" distinguished these high-priced, premium wines from other humbler wines that also fell under the Vino da Tavola label.
The wines produced in Bolgheri are full-bodied, with more similarities to Bordeaux than with Chianti.
As it happens, Antinori planted Cabernet Sauvignon in Tuscany on the Maremma plains in 1920.
The 1997 vintage was considered a very good year that, despite some damage from spring frosts, was warm with little rain. Some lacked freshness. 1994 had more rain, yet JR mentions that it was cool and dry! Sassacaia made a notable wine. Generally rich and fairly well-structured.
1997 Castello dei Rampolla Sammarco Toscana IGT 89 Points
Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT
(Tasted Blind): Deep crimson, the nose bursts with cherry, liquorice and truffle. There are blackcurrant notes and spice suggestive of the Cabernet S portion. Quite heady, the entry is bright and perky acidity almost too high but enough fleshy blackcurrant fruit to offset it. Still some toasty oak resonates even at this age and the tannins are grippy, making the wine robust. Full-bodied and firmly structured with quite a bit of extract the tannins feel more polished than I realised but do become drying to the finish, and there is a hint of grappa on the close.
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1997 Castello dei Rampolla Vigna d'Alceo 94 Points
Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT
(Tasted Blind):An expressive bouquet of intense black fruits, cherry, earth, cinnamon, and bramble combined with an undercurrent of wood bark. The palate persists with black fruit, tobacco and some star anise. Whilst rich, sumptuous, and powerful, the tannins are noticeable and give a firm grip and solidity. The acidity is high, and there is an undertone of sour cherry. Full-bodied, the wine has a pretty hefty extract if not quite the depth of a top example. Yet all things said this is a cracking wine!
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