Villa Poggio Salvi Morellino di Scansano Vaio
Italy: Tuscany (southern coastal province of Grosetto, near village of Scansano)
Sangiovese 100% (red)
2008
$19.99
88
ptsPurchased this bottle of Morellino di Scansano in Liguria in July of 2009, in Monterosso al Mare, Cinque Terre, Dana's most favorite place on earth. We popped the cork on Memorial Day weekend 2011 back in Chicago, at a family gathering at our place, and after letting it breathe for a few hours (per the rec of the wine seller in Monterosso), Kenny Joe, Kathi & I enjoyed a glass. Morellino di Scansano is the Italian D.O.C. designation for the Sangiovese wine made near the town of Scansano, which is located in the Tuscan province of Grosetto, the southernmost province in the region, immediately below the province of Siena. Having lugged this particular bottle from Italy, held it for about two years, and then decanted it for nearly three hours before our party...well, I was sure excited to get a taste. The nose offers black cherries, initially, and then secondary aromas of white pepper and spice. Attractive, indeed. The mouth feel is wonderfully smooth, rewarding. As for the taste profile, I got red berries (not cherries, but more berries...or a mix of raspberry and cherry, perhaps) on the front end, followed by spiciness and a cocoa/coffee finish. However, the body of the wine seemed a bit light to me, and the length was disappointing, disappearing more rapidly than a West Ham two-goal lead midway through the second half at Upton Park. But considering the attractive nose, the great mouth feel, the solid taste profile, and the price (about $20 US), these flaws are minor ones. Not a
+MUST TRY+ for me, but close to one: a solid effort at 88 points.
La Mozza I Perazzi Morellino di ScansanoItaly: Tuscany (southern coastal, province of Grosetto, near village of Scansano)
Sangiovese 85%,
Syrah 4%,
Alicante 4%,
Colorino 3%,
Ciliegiolo 4% (red)
2006
$15.99
88+
ptsRenowned chef
Mario Batali teams up with Lidia & Joe
Bastianich to produce the Tuscan red from a vineyard near the town of
Scansano. It's received 90 points from
Parker's Wine Advocate. I picked it up for sixteen bucks at the
House of Glunz on Wells in Old Town last summer, and with the news that Kerry Wood will be back at Wrigley next spring, I decided to pop the cork on this one tonight. The color is a gorgeous ruby red, but with a cool transparency (I can see my fingers beneath the bowl of the glass through the wine, looking down through the top). The nose offers earth and bright red fruit with some white pepper on the back end (and maybe just a hint of tobacco), a nice balance--no one aroma overpowers the others. I find the mouth feel gentle and light (maybe just a bit
too light for my preference), but not unpleasing. The flavor profile offers
deceiving complexity: quick earth, followed by spice and rich red fruit (a cherry blast), with licorice and a bit of mocha on the finish. The length is excellent, with lingering black licorice on the tongue. Strangely, this wine seems to be fuller and heavier in taste at the end than it is during the initial attack and through the mid-palette. Keeping with the Woody theme, the flavor profile on this Tuscan red is like a Kid Kerry
curveball back in the day: the bite at the end of the pitch,
the hook, is where the money is. I like this wine, but don't agree with Parker that it warrants 90 points. Perhaps with food I'd feel differently, but on it's own, I like a bit more earth, more even fruit (as opposed to the blast mid-way through this one), and a little more weight. Not bad at all, though. I rate it 88+ points.
Marchese de San Petri Sangiovese (by Il Valore Winery)
Italy:
PugliaSangiovese (red)
2008
$5.99
82
ptsThis Italian red from Italy's "heel" demonstrates what I'm starting to accept as a simple maxim: while wines that don't make one vomit within the hour
can be found under $10.00, wines under that line of demarcation (with rare exception), even when palatable, are so tasteless or simple-minded that choosing to drink them is like choosing
Papa John's Pizza when you have more substantial options available for just a few dollars more. Sold at
Trader Joe's for next-to-nothing, this vino offers the wine drinker the flavor of generic red berries (if such berries could be produced), no bouquet to speak of, and a length comparable to a Sarah
Palin-penned dissertation (on her hand, perhaps?).
Puglia, as a region, certainly can deliver some interesting and delicious earthy wines (and is under-rated and under-priced in my opinion), but the
Il Valore San
Giovese...well, it's just not one of them. I've read that when paired with pizza or pasta with red sauce it delivers, and I've tried it with some great pizza from
Renaldi's on Broadway, just north of
Diversey, to no avail. Bland, boring, dull, lacking personality or interest entirely. I suppose for $6.00, tasting non-offensive--plus the 12.5% alcohol content--it can be viewed as a budget option. But if one can afford even $4.00 more, there is absolutely no reason in the world to drink this harmless, tasteless wine from
Il Valore. We can all do better.
+MUST TRY+
