Part II
Since nothing significant has changed in my tastes, let me know when you're bored with these notes as there are parts IV and V still to come!
Blind starter
Château Nico Lazaridi Magiko Vouno 2001 (Greece, Macedonia)
The name translates apparently as Magic Mountain, and it's a Bx blend. And it's pretty nice! The nose is immediately recognisable as a Bx blend, but it is with a twist so I didn't think it Bx (nor did I think it fit with the day's theme of Supper-Tuscans). What that twist is, I can't explain: maybe a touch of iron, maybe a touch of rhubarb, I don't know but it certainly was different to all I had ever tasted before. The tannins were still a bit noticable, but the fruit was great so it was perfectly drinkable now. The acidity was nice and obvious and it was a very refreshing drop. My favourite wine of the day.
Super-Tuscans, not blind
Fattoria Le Pupille Saffredi 2001
CS 50%, Merlot 35%, Alicante 15%. Some true CS scents: cassis and lead, yet with some of Merlot's more darker tones thrown in - but, alas, so was alot of oak. The palate had nice structure and some really lovable bitter aromas also, but was just packed too full of everything to bring enjoyment to me. But it wasn't bad. Really. Once the sheer thickness starts to fade (or if it starts to fade?) I can see myself enjoying a glass or two of this.
La Brancaia Iltraia 2003
CS 60%, Sgv 30%, PV 10%. As 2003s go, this isn't bad. It is big and sweet and confected and rather dark toned, but it doesn't totally manage to destroy the lifted Cabernet-like nose with a touch of cherry and sandalwood mixed in (that would be the Sangiovese?). The palate is soft in its fruit and hard in its tannins - this seems to plague many 2003s - and there isn't sufficent acidity, but this isn't the worst offender in this imbalance. In fact, I think in this case I think that once the fruit calms down a bit I might again enjoy a glass or two of this. Not bad in the context of the vintage.
Tua Rita Giustro di Notri 2001
CS 65%, M 25%, CF 10%. This started out actively unpleasant with lots of blue toned fruit and coca cola and oak. The ugly duckling didn't transform into a swan, but it did become presentable anyway: red toned fruit, lots of oak (sigh!), fresh and lifted and not a travesty of a Bx blend in a warm climate. The palate was very successful if you like wines that are fleshy and big in build. The tannins were still rather too noticable, but this surely has the fruit to develop well. This is a wine that I don't see myself liking even in the future, but I do admit that in its style it is good.
Castello di Fonterutoli Tenuta Belguardo 2000
CS 70%, Sgv 20%, M 10%. Very oaky and obviously from a very warm year. It does have the lifted nose of cassis that I associate with CS and CS blends, but it still seems a bit flat. The palate is weird in the same way: it tastes flat from the surplus of fruit, yet is lifted because the CS tones are noticable. A schizophrenic wine, but if you like the style, I would suppose it is a success. I don't like the style.
Poliziano Le Stanze 2000
CS 70%, M 30%. At first I was quite enamoured of (or with?) this wine. It was obviously from a warm year and was very, very ripe, but it also had a more personal world of aromatics than the previous wines: a touch of shite and some earthiness. Unfortunately these lovable scents disappeared. What were these scents? I thought brett couldn't disappear like this? The palate was never up to the level of the nose: softly fruity, plump, too acidless with some coca cola flavours. Not too nice, except for the first 20 mins when this rocked!
Az. Agr. Lohsa Mandrone di Lohsa 2001
CS 80%, Alicante 10%, PV 10%. This had a similar transformation as the Poliziano: it started out earthy and loamy like a Brunello, but became confected and headache-inducingly sweet. It lacks liveliness on the palate and reminds me a bit too much of dessert wines in its confectedness to be a success.
Castello dei Rampolla d'Alceo 2003
CS 85%, PV 15%. The two Rampollas we had tonight would be wines I'd like to taste in cooler vintages, because the aromatics were IMO pretty decent, but the imbalance might was something one might expect from a too hot year.
The nose was very open and voluptious, but it did have the refreshing, lifted qualities of herbs, cassis and tobacco that I love to find in Bx blends. Unfortunately it was also jammy. The palate was sweet. The tannins were rather unbalanced as with so many 2003s. The acidity on the attack and mid-palate was unnoticable, but on the aftertaste it was as harsh as the tannins. Would this be an indication that they added acidity and didn't quite get it right?
G.A. Rossi di Medelana - Tenuta del Terriccio Lupicaia 2000
CS 90%, M 10%. A little bit corked.
Casanova di Neri Pietradonice 2001
CS 95%, Sgv 5%. Sweet as cherry liqueur, blueberry oak. Too sweet, too thick, too syrupy. Actively unpleasant to me. Popular with many others.
Castello dei Rampolla Sammarco 2003
Ref: d'Alceo, except the tannins here were harsher, and it wasn't quite so sickeningly sweet. I did think that some elements of the wine were truly interesting, so I won't mind tasting this in a cooler vintage.
Col d'Orcia Olmaia 2001
100%CS. A perfect example of how to ruin a wine. Take great quality Cabernet Sauvignon that smells of exactly that: lovely freshness, cassis, herbs and the kiss of sun that Tuscany brings which makes it ripe and juicy but not confected. Then you take as much oak as you can and make toffee out of the wine. In some ways this is a heartbraking wine, because what I sense of the CS underneath the oak, is frankly very lovable albeit in a sunny and ripe variation. But the oak - good heavens - the oak!
Maybe I should skip the following parts as these really don't seem to be to my taste. But I am curious, so I know that if the days suit me, I will go taste them. But if you feel that I shouldn't write notes, do let me know - I can well understand that the notes must get boring by now.
-Otto-