My wife and I hosted a small dinner party with her brother and another friend, with a theme of Tuscan wines. We had a good long while to spend with each wine and chart their progress through the evening.
2003 Enrico Santini Bolgheri Campo alla Casa. This is simply a delightful Vermentino. It shows aromas of wet rocks, chalk, grapefruit, lemon-lime, peach pit and a hint of wood. It is very smooth in the mouth with good medium-body weight and zippy acidity. There is a hint of effervescence on the long bright finish. By the way, another bottle a week later was not quite as good, as it was served too cold. Let it come up to temperature a bit to show its best.
2000 Fattoria di Felsina Chianti Classico Berardenga Rancia Reserva. This is dark ruby in color, with a nose of dark raspberry and incense. In the mouth, there is plenty of rich dark fruit, but it is not showing a lot of nuances at this time. There is good depth and structure for future development, but there are not a lot of discernable tannins here, so maybe just a few years more of bottle age to bring it out of its tight shell is what is required.
1999 Fattoria di Felsina Toscana Fontalloro. This is 100% Sangiovese. Here we find a nice bouquet of soft framboise, licorice rope and minerals. It shows full body and good intensity of flavor, yet is elegantly styled. It takes a while to unwind its flavors of red fruits and cracked pepper. It has a rich finish, where the tannins also come on strong. The overall impression is that this is holding a lot in reserve, despite a 4-hour decanting. Either give it 5 more years or a much lengthier time in the decanter.
1997 La Maggia Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. This wine was really singing on this night. It exhibits a deep, penetrating nose of rose petals, red currant, strawberry compote and a hint of leather. In the mouth, it is very smooth and seamless in texture, sporting a flavor mix of coffee, cherry, and persimmon fruit. It has admirable depth and ample body, though it holds a lithe line with its acidity. And it has a lovely long finish—a real beauty that is drinking very well right now.
2001 Marchesi de Frescobaldi Brunello di Montalcino Castel Giocondo. This made it a clean sweep for the Brunelli. The color is very dark red, almost purple. On the nose, one finds a strong cedar note overlaid on mixed berry fruits. Its fruit profile is cool to the La Maggia’s warm red fruits and it folds in soft spices over time. With time, the fruit seems to grow a bit sweeter and the whole package becomes somehow more precocious and more engaging. It seems modern in its approach, but it holds onto a bold muscular masculine feel, especially as the wall of grippy tannins kick in on the finish.
1998 Badia a Coltibuono Vin Santo del Chianti Classico. A very nice Vin Santo. It opens with a nicely complex nose of high-toned flowers, soft walnuts, lime rind tanginess and crème brulee. On the palate, there is certainly some sweetness, but it is not cloying at all—in fact, this has lovely balance throughout. The flavor profile includes pecans and creamy butterscotch to go with very good acidity.
-Michael