Wine Cellar Food & Wine - Italy Super Tuscan

Auslese, Cape Town
Tasted Friday, May 7, 2010 by rikipedia with 17 views

Introduction

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.

Flight 1 - Risotto with Parma Ham, Kalahari Truffle and Grana Padano (2 Notes)

  • 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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Flight 2 - Leg of Kersefontein Sheep with slices of bohemian dumpling (2 Notes)

  • 1997 Antinori Tignanello 91 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

    (Tasted Blind):
    A vibrant cherry colour toward some browning fleck on the rim.
    The bouquet is tree bark, liquorice, truffle, whispers of tobacco, and some sauvage. Inviting.
    The palate is rich with a thick texture with sour cherry notes dancing across the palate is joined by liquorice, leather, spice and wood smoke. A chalky undertone leads to firm, structured tannins and a lingering finish.
    Blend of 80 Sangiovese, 15 CS, 5 CF.

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  • 1997 Argiano Solengo Toscana IGT 93 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

    (Tasted Blind): A deep garnet. Fairly complex nose with a touch of earthiness, augmented by espresso foam/coffee grinds (torrefaction), liquorice, spices and some cherry pastilles.
    There is oak (charry), but it feels integrated. Robust profile: The wine is full-bodied, thick, dense, and powerful. I found the extract isn't overdone, and a sweet pastille note is running through the wine with a blackberry blackcurrant element. The acid is relatively medium, but there is a menthol note that, in the background, gives a coolness. The finish is fabulously long, and the wine is compelling.

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Flight 3 - Inter-course wines (2 Notes)

  • 2006 Ca' Marcanda (Gaja) Magari 91 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

    (Tasted Blind): A soft, charming bouquet of ripe raspberry, sour red cherry, potting soil and dried red flowers. Sinewy with a sappiness balanced by crisp acidity, this is a full-bodied example that feels intricately woven. A long finish buoyed by a vibrant acidity this is a supple wine but with some power. Closes with a little roast meat, those cherry pastille notes of previous wine and crushed velvet tannins.
    Blend of 50 Merlot, 25 CS, 25 CF.

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  • 2004 Tenute Silvio Nardi Brunello di Montalcino 88 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

    (Tasted Blind): (Brief Notes) An appetizing array of ripe to very ripe fruit, including blackberry, plum and cherry, with a touch of spice. The wine lacks a little of the anticipated concentration and power, leaning towards a sinewy structure. Narrow, firm tannins with a fresh acidity. Yet the fruit feels warm and almost baked.

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Flight 4 - Veal Tongue with snail & tomato fondue (2 Notes)

  • 1996 Antinori Solaia 95 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

    (Tasted Blind): A medium to deep garnet hue; there is a touch of development with some dried autumn leaves, tree bark and savoury edges. However, the main thrust is intense notes of sour cherry, blackcurrant, liquorice, truffle oil, bitter chocolate, and tobacco. Captivating stuff! Medium to full-bodied, the palate is layered with a beautiful sheen to it, very polished and with plenty of fruit to fill out the mid-palate. A vibrant acidity and mineral component keep the wine refreshing. This is impressive, with layers of flavour and concentration all seemingly dancing together. Stunning!!
    Blend of 75 CS, 5 CF, 20 Sangiovese.

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  • 1996 Tenuta Guado al Tasso (Antinori) Bolgheri Superiore Tenuta Belvedere 86 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri, Bolgheri Superiore

    (Tasted Blind): Deep garnet in colour shows some maturity with a bouquet of earth, forest floor, roast meat and saddle leather atop that sit cherry and blackcurrant. With some restraint, the entry is elegant with firm tannins and accents of tobacco, spice, herb or dry southern French scrubland that is slightly diverted by a nutty, oxidative character questioning the overall quality. The tannins also got a little drying as it opened. Still a worthwhile taste but perhaps not in the best condition.
    Blend of 60 CS, 30 Merlot, 10 Syrah.

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Flight 5 - Inter-course wines (1 Note)

  • 2004 Conte Ferdinando Guicciardini Castello di Poppiano Tricorno Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT 89 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT

    (Tasted Blind): The bouquet shows plenty of ripe to overripe fruit whilst the oak is distinctly present but infuses the wine with a spicy, toasty charm.
    A punchy impression on entry, full-bodied and swirls of blackberry and raspberry jam with moments of liquorice giving serious richness to the mid-palate yet cut with a dagger of granular almost coarse tannin. There's palpable high alcohol and just enough acid to give some spine to the wine. Robust and bold, probably in need of some food to match it!
    Fruits from Southern Tuscany and is a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet, and Merlot.

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Flight 6 - Rare-Fried Ostrich Fillet paired with cep mushrooms (2 Notes)

  • 1994 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia 87 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri, Bolgheri Superiore

    (Tasted Blind): A mid to deep ruby to garnet edges. An intense nose with pencil lead, graphite, cassis, cedarwood and semi-dried orange zest. The wine asserts a very Bordeaux-like presence with an elegance I didn't expect. The structure is full-bodied, with cedary notes morphing to some herbal elements - like just fallen leaves. The tannins are still prominent and grippy with a lively acidity, and the finish is medium to long. Overall, I enjoyed the wine but the herbal quality was quite forthright and didn't seem as integrated as it should have been.

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  • 1994 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 90 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri, Bolgheri Sassicaia

    (Tasted Blind): Mid ruby-crimson. Cedar and tobacco aromas are intensified by deep notes of chocolate, praline, and tilled soil. Robust and solid, the palate is met with intense cherry, liquorice, and truffle notes, all enveloped in a delightful chocolate backdrop. The wine has a stronger, fuller profile than the previous Ornellaia. The texture is more powdery and rises towards the finish. Persistent finish with some mid-palate richness this is a decent wine but not a top example.

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