The first two wines are examples of well known grapes making good wines outside their areas in which they are most comfortable, namely the northern Rhône valley for Syrah and Tuscany and perhaps Romagna for Sangiovese. I know that fans of Aussie Shiraz would strongly dispute the primacy of Northern Rhône but I find that the fruit of warm climate Syrah/Shiraz tends towards a coarse type of richness, which has a lot of admirers, but is not for me.
Syrah “Case Via” IGT Colli della Toscana Centrale 1996 – Fontodi – Alc. 13% - (€15 bin-end). I’m not normally a fan of warm climate Syrah/Shiraz but this one showed complex and elegant aromas of dark fruit and cherries on a medium weight body with bright acidity, good depth and excellent finesse and length. Probably the Tuscan climate at Fontodi’s altitude is cool enough for finesse, especially in a year like 1996, but I also liked only a bit less the more opulent 2000. This one was perfect with magret de canard; 16.5/20+++ QPR!!
Puglia IGT Sangiovese 2008 – Antica Enotria, AA Di Tuccio Raffaele, Cerignola (FG) – Alc.12% - (c. €9), made from organically grown grapes and tank aged. I bought this experimentally with misgivings about Sangiovese grown so far south by an unfamiliar producer but was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. The bouquet was rich and well developed but fresh and the palate was quite full with sweeter fruit and less tang than from Tuscana and Romagna but with lively enough acidity for balance and very firm tannins supporting the finish. I think that this has more class than most wines which have come my way from indigenous grapes in the Italian heel; 15.5/20++ QPR.
And here are some other wines enjoyed in the last week or so.
Rioja Colección Privada 2000 – Sierra Cantabria (Eguren) – Alc. 14%. The grapes were hand-picked slightly over-ripe Tempranillo from vines more than 50 years old. 50% of the vinification was by “maceración carbénica” and (2006 vintage data) the wine was matured for 18 months in new barriques, of which 50% were French oak and 50% American. Almost identical notes to 2 and a half years ago.
The nose was better developed than a couple of years ago and showed rich and concentrated essence of sweet cherry and some liqueur. The palate was medium/full bodied with softly caressing and slightly creamy round fruit with, like the nose, attractive aromatics and enough gentle grip for balance. This wine is “modern” in its fruit expression but in its 11th year its aggressive sounding oak treatment has integrated very well leaving only those creamy touches. This is attractive drinking and quite moreish in spite of the alcohol albeit not very complex and challenging; 16/20++.
Arbois Chardonnay 2007 – Domaine André et Mireille Tissot – Alc. 13%, their basic cuvée, was even better than earlier bottles, still delightfully crisp and mineral with a nice undertow of white fruit with some “gras”; like most very mineral whites it revealed extra complexities with Sainte-Maure and Pouligny St.Pierre goat cheeses; 16/20.
Bandol 2000 – Château de Pibarnon – Alc. 13.5%. Maybe I should have decanted this because at first the aromatics were very muted on the nose and palate. Although they became somewhat more expressive as the bottle emptied, but the overall character of the wine remained darker than usual with sombre fruit, marked tar and bitter chocolate notes and firm tannic structure. Bandol class was still there but with less than usual Pibarnon elegance. I am in some doubt whether this wine needs more time or whether it is already drying out. Does anyone here have a view? 15.5/20 for this bottle right now.