Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is one of six Tuscan wines
that carry the allegedly top of the line Italian DOCG
classification where the G stands for guaranteed. But if
your wallet is brimming with cash or you don't mind maxing
out your credit cards you can find much, much better wines
known as Super Tuscans. I don't plan to review any Super
Tuscans, at least not until the economy turns around. When
a local wine store had a sale I jumped on the chance to
taste the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, a wine reputed to
date back to the mid-1300s. It is based on a local clone of
the Sangiovese grape that is found in so many Tuscan wines.
You may remember that 2003 was a scorching summer in many
parts of the world. Tuscany was not spared and this vintage
was not considered to be one of the best. I would relish
the opportunity to do a tasting of multiple vintages of
this wine.
The city of Montepulciano is in southern Tuscany, fairly
close to the Umbrian border. It's a lovely Tuscan hill town
with a Fifteenth Century square, the Piazza Grande. If you
are ready to spend a lot try to stay in the Locanda
dell'Amorosa which is even older. Before reviewing this
wine here are a few suggestions of what to eat with
indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region. Start
with Animelle di Carciofi con Mousse de Mele al Calvados
(Artichoke Hearts with Apple-and-Calvados Mousse). For a
second course, eat Umbrichelli alla Norcina (Handmade
Spaghetti with Cream-and-Sausage Sauce). For dessert
indulge in Cantucci (Almond Biscuits dipped in Vino Santo,
a Tuscan dessert wine).
OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review
are purchased at the full retail price. This particular
bottle was purchased at a public first come, first served
sale.
Wine Reviewed Canneto Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2003
14.8% alcohol about $24 (normally about $32)
I'll start by quoting the marketing materials. Description:
Match it to a meat-based lasagna. Tasting Note: The Nobile
'03 from prugnolo gentile with small amounts of merlot and
cabernet sauvignon showed well. The nose starts out rather
hesitantly but goes on to reveal perfectly ripe, eloquently
expressed fruit followed by lovely spicy notes. But it is
on the palate that the wine really comes into its own,
displaying good extract, tanginess and energy. Score - 2
Glasses (out of 3).
I first sipped this wine alone. It was mouth filling and
quite persistent. The Vino Nobile had a great balance of
tannins and acidity. The first meal had for starters
barbecued chicken wings in a sweet and sour sauce. I tasted
black cherries and tobacco with oak in the finish. The main
dish was barbecued spare ribs. With the ribs the tobacco
was predominant. So far so good.
I next tasted this wine with a combination of rib steak and
shoulder steak slathered with a home made barbecue sauce
composed of ketchup, mustard, garlic, lemon juice, and
black pepper. The Vino Nobile was noble; it was powerful
with a great balance among the soft tannins, fruits, and
acidity. It was quite long. It really cut the grease of the
potatoes roasted in chicken fat and picked up acidity when
facing a tomato salsa salad.
The final meal was a commercial shepherd's pie. This time
the predominant tastes were black cherry and oak, but I
tasted tobacco as well. The wine maintained its force when
I added a spicy jalapeno pepper sauce.
The first cheese tasting involved a Mozzarella which
weakened the wine. A Yellow Cheddar didn't weaken the wine
as much. In both cases the wine was frankly wasted. Perhaps
a better cheese would have made more sense. Moral of the
story, don't waste a fine wine such as this one on fairly
pedestrian cheese.
Final verdict. I would jump out and buy more at this price.
But I think that I would pass at the regular price in my
area. I definitely remember other Italian wines at that
price that were even better.
----------------------------------------------------
Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten computer and
Internet books, but frankly prefers drinking fine German or
other wine, accompanied by the right foods and the right
people. He teaches computer classes at an Ontario
French-language community college. Check out his wine
website http://www.theworldwidewine.com with a weekly
column reviewing $10 wines and new sections writing about
(theory) and tasting (practice) organic and kosher wines.
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