I had a great quaffer last night: Recanati Cab 2009. Not complex but lovely vanilla and no tannins. Medium body. tastes unoaked but the bottle says something like 7 months in not-new oak. Could have fooled me as a new world, fruit very forward, california cab. The rep said that the new winemaker studied in U of C, Davis.
As an aside, I also had last night the recanati reserve cab 2007 and special reserve 2006. The reserve was my favorite of the bunch, with nice dark chocolate (low cocoa count), stewed plums, and ripe, dark fruit (not berries). Full bodied. However, there was a drop of unbalanced alcohol on the mid palate. The rep said the reserve smells like pomegranates but I don't have that smell honed in my sensory library. It does a fine balance between new and old world.
The special reserve, to me, is not worth the extra money over the reserve. The special reserve, unlike the above two, uses new oak. Nice dark berries and a lot of mocha on the nose. cassis on the palate with nice, firm and not overpowering tannins. This one can cellar the longest. Well-rounded.
However, these bottles were not decanted and instead was opened in the bottle for 1.5 hours before I tasted. I'm sure they would have done better with some decanting.
Additionally, I asked about the cab franc 2008 and the rep said that because of the shmitta year, the 2008 won't get a kosher certification so no kosher USA store will take them. However, I was told that I can ask for a special order in Gotham wine and liquor because they know Recanati has them available for the market. Interesting. It won't be at the tasting in april, but it could be on the shelves or behind the counter.