€5 for a bottle at a pizzeria in Tuscany. Like the other reds I've tried in Italy so far, I recognize the attributes I've noted in the US, but they present as a structured, deep and tasty whole, instead of some flat liquid combo of tannins, acid, and one or two fruit/oak notes. This is my least favorite so far, merely because Montepulciano isn't my preference, but it still delivers rich nuanced beauty, and goes down oh so easy with Italian food. Red and plummy fruits, bright semi-vegetal acidity, solid body at 13.5%, tannins that settle more on the back end and gradually build up without food, and that glorious perfect permeating oak, flashing buttery and meaty on the finish. Relative to its cousins here in Italy this is an 8.6. In the states, at THIS price, I'd give this a 9.1 and buy out every store in town and drink it every day for as long as I could.
€5 for a bottle at a pizzeria in Tuscany. Like the other reds I've tried in Italy so far, I recognize the attributes I've noted in the US, but they present as a structured, deep and tasty whole, instead of some flat liquid combo of tannins, acid, and one or two fruit/oak notes. This is my least favorite so far, merely because Montepulciano isn't my preference, but it still delivers rich nuanced beauty, and goes down oh so easy with Italian food. Red and plummy fruits, bright semi-vegetal acidity, solid body at 13.5%, tannins that settle more on the back end and gradually build up without food, and that glorious perfect permeating oak, flashing buttery and meaty on the finish. Relative to its cousins here in Italy this is an 8.6. In the states, at THIS price, I'd give this a 9.1 and buy out every store in town and drink it every day for as long as I could.
Jul 16th, 2016
Montepulciano, Siena, Tuscany, Italy
