Browse Tag

tuscany

Terri Ciampolo

[vineyard]Montevertine 2005 “Pian del Ciampolo” (Tuscany) – Wow, is this pretty. I thought I’d lost my enthusiasm for sangiovese, but wines like this could re-energize it. Dusty strawberries, flecked with earth and structured by their seeds, with tiny-leafed herbality and a long, faintly buzzing finish full of rocks and light foam. Really, really approachable, but there’s enough structure to eliminate near-term worries. So, hold it for a while? I answer: why? (7/09)

Old mass

Massa Vecchia 2005 Maremma Toscana Bianco (Tuscany) – A bit of a brett bomb, though eventually the wine starts to show things other than fetid stench, including a silky palate that glides and skates as if on the smoothest ice. A little more attention to hygiene, and this would be a beauty. (7/09)

Agnus

Dei 1991 Rosso di Montepulciano (Tuscany) – Dead, decomposing, and in no danger of reanimation. No, I didn’t expect a different result. (4/09)

Tufi underground

Teruzzi & Puthod 2003 “Terre di tufi” (Tuscany) – Getting a bit tired already, not from age as much as the effort of supporting its brawny upper body on a rather spindly lower half. Ponderous despite a fair expression of metal-sheathed white apricot, and not for the long haul. (10/08)

Big Night

Forsoni “Sanguineto I e II” 2004 Rosso di Montepulciano (Tuscany) – This is such a beautiful wine, and has almost single-handedly restored my confidence in the category. Spicy strawberry and black cherry fruit with double-helixed structure and a very, very light bite of chewy skin tannin, this is a wine that loves nothing more than to dine. Don’t disappoint it. (10/08)

Cuban Cigala

[barrels]Martini di Cigala “San Giusto a Rentennano” 2001 Merlot di Toscana “La Ricolma” (Tuscany) – Sweet blueberry and milky; this feels more like a thickened soup than a wine, despite a sharp bite of tannin that seems out of place. That said, as wines in this style (which isn’t mine) go, it’s reasonably good. But I’d never choose to drink it. (9/08)

Red & grey

[bottle]San Felice 2003 “Il Grigio” Chianti Classico “Riserva” (Tuscany) – Some strawberry jam (with seeds) threatens to stick its neck out here, but mostly this is clumsy structure and fruit the wine doesn’t know what to do with, except step on with a heavy foot. Dull. (8/08)

For he’s a jolly good moscadello

[bottle]Capanna 2006 Moscadello di Montalcino (Tuscany) – Very, very sweet, with floral/perfumed aromatics but a density approaching that of white pedro ximénez. It’s immediately appealing, but the lack of complexity, acidity, or any other sort of structure make it a chore to drink more than a few sips. (8/08)

Pizza Pan

[bottles]Bosco 1997 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo “Pan” (Tuscany) – 85% montepulciano, 15% cabernet sauvignon. Juicy and full-fruited…still…and showing very little sign that it’s eleven years old. Dark blackberry, not quite jammy but possessing that sort of concentrated density and stickiness, dominates, with a dusting of fresh, crunchy black pepper and some minor herbal notes. It’s good, despite some lingering signs of confection, and might make more sense as a New World version of this same wine, but it’s hard to complain about what’s there for the drinking right now. (7/08)