Sassicaia! It's considered to be one of Italy's leading Bordeaux-style red wines and it is delicious! I tried the newly released 2007 vintage of this Super Tuscan gem that received 95 points by the Wine Advocate. (All of the wines in this blog have ratings of over 90 points!) It's still a little tight and takes awhile to open but it definitely lives up to it's reputation!
For a 1/3 of the price and just a couple of points shy of Sassicaia I found the 2004 Tenuta La Fuga Brunello di Montalcino, Le Due Sorelle. I was told that this may be the first time this wine has been distributed to Florida. It was a beautiful deep ruby color with flavors of berries, a little chocolate and yes, leather. I wanted to be alone with it for a few minutes.
Some other outstanding Italian reds to look for right now are the 2004 Castello del Terriccio, Lupicaia. The wine is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with some Merlot and Petit Verdot to round it out. It's limited, it's over $100, it's big and balanced, it has lots of layers and it's delectable. I think it could use another couple years in the cellar. A little more moderately priced is the 2008 Tenuta Sette Ponti Crognolo. It's a Sangiovese blended with a little Merlot that is juicy with black fruit and soft tannins.
One final nugget to leave you with: 2007 Tenuta Sette Ponti Oreno. This bad boy made the Wine Spectator's Top 100 List! The blend of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon is dark and dense. I smelled a bit of blueberry and tasted alot of dark fruit with some coffee on the finish. Nice layers that once again will make this wine age nicely!
The wines of Sette Ponti are all fabulous!
