The theme was Tuscany. Guests brought their wines bagged and were asked to place them into one of three groups called light, medium and heavy. The intent was to have three flights to go with the three courses being served. There were, of course, more mediums and heavies than lights, so at random wines were robbed from the next category up to create three flights of six wines.
Following are my notes as taken at the time with group rank, my rank, and an addendum upon retasting the next morning if any wine was leftover (there were no 3rd flight wines left whatsoever).
Flight 1 (Light)
2000 La Magia/ Rosso di Montalcino. Rustic with an old world personality. Has an orange tint, might seem older than it is. Group 4th, my 3rd. Showed better next day, richer and more vivid though still rustic. Quite nice.
2001 Dievola/Chianti Classico earthy nose, no midpalate, probably closed. Not much going on here. Group 6th, my 6th. Next morning it was sensational: excellent definition, classic Chianti fruit, some mint. My favorite of the retastes.
2001 Badia a Coltibuono/Chianti Classico Riserva Shows some age, could be a 99, complex and yet traditional, this wine has it all. Group 3rd, my 1st. Next morning disappointed, however, with mild oxidation. Drink up!
2003 Martini di Cigala/San Guisto a Rentennano CCR tannic, good fruit, some salt impression, lively and interesting. Group 2nd, my 2nd. Next day showed improvement, loaded with black fruit and olives. My second favorite of the retastes.
2003 Poggio Cennina/ Borgo Cennina minor brett with very sweet fruit and surprising palate weight. Group 5th, my 4th. Next morning, it had faded, possibly closed down.
2003 Boscarelli/Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, lots of oak showing, very modern. Everyone loves it; I don't get it. Group 1st, my 5th. None left for re-evaluation.
Flight 2 (Medium)
I was helping in the kitchen here and rushed to taste the wines which I managed to rank without taking any notes on some of them. It was a very strong flight, however, and I noted that there was something interesting about all but wine #6.
2000 Antinori "Pian delle Vigne"/Brunello di Montalcino No notes. Group 3rd, my 3rd and there was none left to re-evaluate.
1979 Le Bocce/Chianti Classico Riserva Old, tea flavors, interesting spice. Would have guessed it to be late 80's, not 70's.
Group 5th, my 2nd. Next day: no wine left to recheck, but this thought: I brought this wine and, of course, due to it's extreme age recognized it. For it's age, it deserved a first place ranking (and it got several 1st place votes); my 2nd place ranking reflects an attempt to be more objective and so I rated it behind my clear and away favorite among the other five.
2003 Kirkland "Toscano", a sangio/cab/mer blend heavy, extracted, very young, a bit rustic. Very dark. Also too in-my-face but I think it would back off with some decanting. A ringer? Group 6th, my 6th. Next day: improved, the cab element dominates, but as predicted with time you can kind of tell one part from another. Doesn't taste particularly Italian, but for the $18ish it supposedly costs it's better than most American cabs at this price point.
2003 Montegiachi/Chianti Classico Riserva Love this. lovely fruit, good tannins, great balance. Group 2nd, my 1st. Next day: unexpectedly seems more powerful, with grippy tannins.
1999 Melini Massovecchio/Chianti Classico Riserva No notes. Group 1st, my 5th. Next day, though, it was very traditional with complex red fruit, spice and orange rind flavors. Odd: this group typically votes more modern than traditional, while I do the opposite. Our ratings don't reflect that.
2002 Baroncini Colli Senesi/Chianti Classico Can't really tell anything about this wine. It's kind of boring, don't know if it will open up or if it's really that boring. Group 4th, my 6th. Sunday, not much improvement: plain with astringent tannins.
Flight 3 (Heavy)
1999 La Poderino/Brunello di Montalcino Very tight, but very sangiovese. Refined. Very good. Group 5th, my 2nd. No leftover available to retaste next day.
2000 Antinori "Pian delle Vigne"/Brunello di Montalcino Big and rich. Rather modern with tons of body and structure. Cab? An IGT? Group 4th, my last place. No leftover wine.
1999 Castello di Meleto "Fioce" Supple and lighter at first, structure builds in the glass. Lovely fruit, a bit salty. Group 3rd, my 5th. No leftover wine.
1999 Lagerla / Brunello di Montalcino Structured, traditional, drinks very well now but will reward more time. Brunello? Tied for group 1st in total points, but placed 2nd with fewer 1st place votes, my 1st place. No leftover wine.
2001 Le Cuvier Sangiovese, Paso Robles Pine, new worldish, maybe American oak?, some strawberry jam in the background, exotic, bright acidity. Multi-faceted, ballsy and fun. Group 1st place, my 2nd (yeah, me who hates Paso wines--I didn't even suspect a ringer here. You'd think I would have from my notes, but there was an even louder decoy call coming from the following wine.)
2000 Lupicaia IGT Low acid, nice tannins and Paulliac features: black cherry, cigar box. Very good wine, possibly excellent, but I don't think it's Tuscan. 4th in group voting, and 6th in my ranking. And very authentically Tuscan, just made out of classic Bordeaux varietals. And who fooled me with this outlier? I did it myself. Never tasted the wine before, but you'd have thought I'd have known enough about the wine I brought to pick it out. Well, wrong!
