Wow! What a fantastic bottle of Italian wine! It is a combination of Montepulciano (70%) and Sangiovese (30%) grapes and it is aged in French oak barrels. I had a tasters portion, then decanted the bottle for a few hours before the first full glass.
The pour is a bright, concentrated ruby red...very beautiful. Minimal legs for a 13.5% abv wine. The nose is intense but still smooth (especially after decanting), beginning with lots of fruit: black cherry, blackberry, red raspberries and a hint of bing cherries too. The bouquet is well rounded with lots of oaky notes to complement the fruit aromas as well.
The palate is where this wine comes to life; there is something full and almost chewy (in a good/great way) about the wine as soon as it enters your mouth. The forepalate is light and fruity (black cherries and raspberries) with a noticable but very enjoyable hint of tannins in the fruit. The wine almost tastes warm on the midpalate even though it is a few degrees below room temperature; the fruit continues with just a slightly more sour note: the bing cherry flavor from the nose. The finish is relatively short but it is so well put together with blackberries and light, crisp tannins that you are looking forward to the next taste before the flavors have left the palate.
Retail: $46
Rating: 93
This wine pairs beautifully with Italian red sauce, dishes with spicy sausage, as well as flank steak.
I'm not usually a fan of Italian reds because they seem to be too alcohol driven for my palate right now, but this one is brilliantly done and the last 9 years of aging did this wine a great deal of good I think. I would recommend this for someone branching out/up in price range for a special bottle of red; I'll be looking for a sale to pick up another bottle or two for the cellar.
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