TN: Italian Sangiovese with a couple of local ring-ins

[n4sir]

A few weeks ago I attended tasting of a selection of wines primarily of Sangiovese and primarily from Italy, all of which were served single blind. It was a disappointing tasting; I found the number of aged Italian wines in poor/undrinkable condition (despite being cellared properly since purchase) nothing short of horrific. The two Australian ring-ins were a pleasant surprise, but overall if this is a fair representation of how poorly they cellar it's bad enough to seriously scare me off Italian Sangiovese for good.


FLIGHT 1:

2007 Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva Tenute Marchese DOCG (cork): 13.5% alc. Dark to inky crimson colour. Dark and earthy, black cherries, tar, boot polish and green tobacco immediately observable on the nose; a soft entry leads to a mix of tangy/tarry cherry fruit with a hint of cranberry and citrus, finishing smoky/earthy with grippy tannins and good length. A great start to the tasting.

2006 Isole e Olena Cepparello Toscana IGT (screwcap): 14% alc. Medium to dark crimson/red. More immediate lift and volatility than the 2007 Antinori, more varnish and boot polish with a touch of mint and cloves; a soft entry leads to a savoury/tangy mid-palate of cherry fruit and bright acidity, finishing minty with softer tannins and some heat.

1998 Isole e Olena Cepparello Toscana IGT (cork): 13.5% alc. Medium to dark garnet/brick. From the first whiff this smells badly oxidised, fishy and very stocky and porty with weird coriander, vegemite and burnt tobacco characters; the palate's very dry and just as stocky, varnishy, fishy and herbal with bare remnants of caramelised fruit/coconut oak. Undrinkable.

1997 Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva Tenute Marchese DOCG (cork): 13.5% alc. Medium to very dark garnet/brick. Not quite as badly oxidised as the previous wine but it's still overdeveloped, herbal and unpleasant, coriander, menthol and liquorice with a touch of what appears to be either cork or old-wood taint in the background. The palate's just as unattractive, the fruit is completely gone or stripped leaving the structure and those baggy/damp flavours. The room was undecided as to whether this was cork taint or the house style resulting from heavy aging in old wood; either way, I found it unacceptable.


FLIGHT 2:

2003 Tua Rita Perlato del Bosco Toscana IGT (cork): 14% alc. Dark to inky crimson/black. Very ripe and very bretty, full of cloves, boot polish, black cherries and bandaids; the fault is even more obvious on the medicinal palate which can be summed up as 'bandaid city'. It's also seemingly light on tannins and very short with teeth-hurting, enamel stripping acidity sticking out. Horrible, horrible, horrible stuff.

2002 Belguardo Morellino di Scansano Poggio bronzone (cork): 13.5% alc. Medium to dark crimson. Stocky and sweet with caramel, a touch of boot polish and pressed honey ham slices; the palate's much more impressive, medium-weight, tangy and savoury with sour cherries and soft/melting tannins resulting in a lovely, almost Burgundy-like finish. This was the best of the Italians over 10 years of age by a big margin tonight, the bright acidity noticeable compared to the aged Australian ring-in but not over the top.

1998 Yarra Yering Sangiovese, Yarra Valley (cork): 13.2% alc. Light to medium brick. Heavily developed and herbal but in a very pleasant way, sweet cedar, old leather, mixed spices, tobacco and dried herbs, a touch of boot polish and coriander too. The palate opens with a salvo of surprisingly sweet, medium-weight cherry/cola fruit with some coffee and herbal tinges, finishing with long, soft, lacy tannins that caress the back-palate. This was a divisive wine, with some thinking it was over oaked; I disagree, in fact I thought it was the best of the older wines of the entire tasting, something I couldn't have possibly imagined going in.

1997 Fattoria Zerbina Marzieno Ravenna Rosso IGT (cork): 14% alc. Quite vegetal, volatile and weird compared to the surrounding wines with some pickle and boot polish on the nose; the palate's very dry and earthy and seems stripped on the finish, it lacks fruit, lacks tannins, pretty much lacks everything. Was it cork tainted? Like a few others it was really hard to tell, my guess is it probably was tainted by something.

1997 Fattoria Zerbina Sangiovese di Romagna Pietramora Superiore Riserva (cork): 14% alc. Very dusty and earthy, cherry/cola and tar, some tobacco with breathing; the palate's powerful and relatively fruity, seems like it's still meshing with redcurrants and some alcohol/acid heat, finishing with a touch of dusty old oak. It's really hard to see where this wine is going; there are young, brawny elements yet to mesh, yet there's also the risk of that bilgy old oak I detest standing out with more age.


FLIGHT 3:

2009 Coriole Vita Reserve Sangiovese, McLaren Vale (screwcap): 13.5% alc. Medium to very dark red. Very sweet, fruity and attractive, cherries and rhubarb, stalks and tobacco spit all lifted by a touch of nail polish (EA); the palate's just as fruit sweet and tarry, with stalks and pepper and massive, Wendouree/Burgundy-like grippy tannins on the finish. The double decant really did this a world of good, it looked even better than at the Coriole tasting last year.

2007 Argiano Brunello di Montalcino DOCG (cork): 14% alc. Medium garnet/brick. Suspect nose that seems very old, dominated by either baggy cork taint or dirty old barrels, though some boot polish and green tobacco eventually surface. The palate is sweeter than the nose and is surprisingly powerful, featuring a good core of cherry fruit, although the finish is baggy and stripped by taint either from cork or those horrible old barrels. If this is a deliberate style I simply don't understand it.

1997 Altesino Palazzo Altesi Toscana IGT (cork): 13% alc. Medium to very dark brick/brown. Volatile and jammy, full of vegemite, beef stock, burnt tobacco and charred bricks; the fruit has completely disappeared on the palate, leaving a soft, chewy structure that's actually quite nice, it's just a damn shame it's so badly oxidised.

1996 Pieve Santa Restituta (Gaja) Brunello di Montalcino Rennina (cork): 14% alc. Medium to very dark brick/garnet. Volatile, herbal, and tarry, becoming more stocky with breathing; the palate's chewy and slightly vegetal, sour cherries and liquorice, finishing stalky and lean with chalky tannins. It's alive, but it's not attractive.


FLIGHT 4:

2009 Antinori Tignanello Toscana IGT (cork): 14% alc. Dark to inky red/purple. Stalky and sweet nose with rhubarb, black cherries and tobacco and some noticeable volatility/heat; the palate is genuinely full-weight, with soft, mouth-coating tannins and sweet fruit with touches of game and stock, a touch of minty heat mid-palate, finishing long and soft with black liquorice. The best of the young wines tonight; I've always been a fan of Tignanello, but after tonight maybe I should amend that to young Tignanello?

2005 Antinori Tignanello Toscana IGT (cork): 13.5% alc. Medium to very dark crimson with legs on the glass. More herbal than the 2009 vintage, but it still has a good core of black cherry, boot polish and liquorice; the palate's leaner with brighter cherry fruit and a little clove, finishing with lovely soft tannins and great length. I've liked this vintage at previous tastings, so it's good to see it's still travelling well.

1998 Antinori Tignanello Toscana IGT (cork): 13.5% alc. Medium to dark brick/brown with legs on the glass. The nose is dead on arrival, full of gunpowder, vegemite, burnt tobacco and unattractive vegetal characters; the palate's just as completely shot, sour, thin and dried out with the remnants of the tannin structure remaining. Undrinkable.

1990 Antinori Tignanello Toscana IGT (cork): 13% alc. Medium to dark brick brown with legs on the glass. I can't believe some people said they liked this wine, the nose was a carbon copy of the oxidised bottle of the 1998 vintage; the palate wasn't quite as sour though and did have some touches of potting mix, but that was probably because the bottle died many years ago and was dug up for this tasting. Another frustrating, undrinkable wine that was probably a strangely appropriate way to finish.


Cheers,
Ian

[griff]

Horrific indeed! Makes me wonder if shipping was the issue for the older wines? Do you know whether they were brought over personally by plane or shipped?

cheers

Carl

[Mahmoud Ali]

I had a 1990 Tignanello a few month ago and it was very good, nothing at all like your description of oxidation or being dead. I fully suspect that storage issues had more to do with the result.

Cheers.................Mahmoud.

[monghead]

Wow, that is awful luck Ian. what a shame...

[n4sir]

I'm still shaking my head thinking about this tasting, so many wines I would have pulled for substitutes (which apparently were there) but the decision wasn't made. Can only go on what we were told about the provenance of the wines before this started, but geez, this was really disappointing.

Cheers,
Ian

[fred]

Ian,

That is a terrible run and not indicative of the quality of ageing of good sangiovese.

That being said IMHO 1998 is a pretty poor vintage for really good sangiovese (not surprised as I love both Cepparello and Tignanello - even if Tignanello is really a super-Tuscan not straight sangiovese - but recently in Italy neither have lived up to style for that vintage). By contrast 1995 and 1997 are lovely for both wines and drinking superbly!

That 2006 Cepparello needs time - but the minty style just should not be there: it is not quite the antithesis of what they strive to do - but not far off it.

No explanation for 1997 Tenute Marchese falling over - butagain I drank that vintage in January over there of that wine and it was very good....consider that possible cork. I am very sensitive to mint/menthol and do not find those tastes to my liking in wine....

I have not tasted/drunk the 1990 Tignanello for 3-4 years but it WAS good - if not a great Tig (search for good examples of 95 & 97).

Thoise Brunellos sound stuffed - and that just should not be the case> Talk to a decent importer (Melbourne's Anthony d"anna of Boccaccio or Enoteca Sileno perhaps if Gavin allows the comment through or Jon Osbeiston or Ian Cooke in Sydney) but this is just awful as a showcase.

I drink a lot of aged sangiovese (mailnly in Italy admittedly) each year, and the good producers make bloody good ageworthy wines. I do not have a horse in the race and normally would not worry me as it means people will be put off buying at auction etc but you should not believe this is indicative (except of 1998!!!).

ciao

fred