1997 Volpaia, Balifico: Medium-dark ruby/purple, with good tint to the tears. Spicy nose of blackberries and cherries -- later (ca. 2hrs. in and open bottle) added a rosey floral element. Moderately full-bodied, well-balanced flavors of focused black cherry, black currant, and a very mild peppery, spicy finish with relatively firm tannins. Still evolving, not at its peak yet, but certainly enjoyable now. More than held its own with a Black Angus Tenderloin steak (Baci Trattoria in SLC). WS gave this wine a 94, which to me means just a step off classic quality. It did not seem quite that close to a classic super Tuscan to me. My score: 92. Will wait a year for another taste of this vintage.

1996 Rampolla, Sammarco: Very dark crimson color and a somewhat briary, gamey nose at the beginning. Decidedly NOT fruity, with beefy, gamey, and spicy flavors dominating a slightly tart cherry nuance. For my taste, the acid level was a bit too high, thus unbalancing the wine's overall impression. Despite the interesting aromas and flavors, a bit one-dimensional. 89 May have been helped by food, which was not part of the experience.

It was interesting to me how different these two wines (both Sangio/Cab blends from the Chianti Classico region) were. Of course, there was the difference of an okay vintage and an outstanding vintage, but the flavor profiles shared little. The Sammarco seemed very dark in color for a Sangio wine. All-in-all, both wines were very enjoyable, and in both cases my guests seemed to enjoy them even more than I, so I can't complain. As this was my first superTuscan from the '97 vintage (since trying a few at release), I have high hopes for the heavy-hitters from the vintage (Solaia, Solengo, etc.).

De gustibus non est disputandum.

I taste 97 vintage some month ago. (I have the other bottle too, but I sold it to an ex-roommate to give to his girlfriend's dad. I think he like it!) I remember it wasn't 94 point-wine unlike what WS said, but still pretty good maybe you are right with 92pt. So far, I like Banfi Excelus (1997), Summus (1995), and Argiano Solengo (1999) better!

Dpromphan,
Good point. I haven't had the '97 Exelsus, but I would certainly agree with you: I would put '95 Summus ahead of the '97 Balifico, and I would put '99 Solengo WELL ahead of this. For my part, that's no slam against Volpaia, as my repect for both Banfi and Argiano is great. I consider the Balifico a decent QPR wine -- I got mine for just under $40. Very respectable.

De gustibus non est disputandum.

Dpromphan,

I totally agree that the '97 Excelsus is fabulous now if decanted for a few hours, but I believe it is just a hint of what is to come. Would suggest holding for another 2-3 years.

Reviving an older thread here as I found the 97 Balifico on closeout for $20.00. Don't know if anyone has tried this recently but from the tone of this 2+ year old thread, seems like this might be peaking now. futronic...opinion?

Emilio,
I still haven't opened another Balifico since my tasting notes, but from my experience with this wine, if I could find it for $20, I would not hesitate to buy it. You may be right that it might be peaking now/soon. If I open mine soon, I'll let you know.