Tasted alot of Italian wine tonight at Sam's. Unfortunately, the '97 Brunellos and '97-'98 Barolos were hard to gauge since they were not decanted and tight as a drum. The high-end Sangioveses and blends were mostly fabulous. Here are the highlights:

1999 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia ($162)
Truly a "Super" Tuscan. Incredible nose and huge finish. But at this price, probably the only time I'll ever taste it. WOTN (but it should be). 95+ pts.

1999 Tenuta Sette Ponti Crognolo($31) 91-92 pts

1997 Traviglini Gattinara ($23)
Better than the '96. Brick red color, but still plenty of life left. 89-90 pts.

Riondo Prosecco NV ($8)
Vino Me is right, this is a great value and worthy of RP's 90 pt. rating

1999 San Francesco Ronco Dei Quattroventi Ciro ($28)
From Calabria. 100% Gaglioppo grape. Very intense, spicy, and ripe. Interesting! 91 pts.

1997 Remo Farina Amarone ($24)
Great value for an Amarone. Sweet maraschino cherry and excellent structure. Definite buy. 92 pts.

2000 Fonterutoli Badiola Toscana ($12)
90% Sangiovese, 10% Cab/Merlot. Surprisingly weighty and smooth for the money. Very good QPR. 89-90 pts.

1999 Fonterultoli Siepi ($84)
50% Sangiovese. 50% Merlot. Elegant and concentrated. Very young, but clearly a blockbuster. Have a '93 in the cellar. It was a lot cheaper when I bought it. 92-93 pts.

2000 Elena Walch Gewuztraminer ($12)
From Trentino-Alto Adige. Fruity in the middle, but bone dry on the finish. As good as many Alsatian Gewurz's. A surprise. 88-89 pts.

2000 Jermann Vintage Tunina ($48)
From Friuli. Best white of the night. Blend of Chard, Sauv Blanc, and two other local grapes. Apparently can age for years. Creamy, lemon, crisp, complex. 93 pts.

1999 Terrabianca Ceppate ($52)
75% Cab, 25% Merlot. Amazing nose of incense, lilac and berries. Smoky vanilla flavors. Delicious. 92-93 pts.

1999 Antinori Tignanello ($69)
Almost as good as the '97. Perhaps a little more tannin and little less fruit, but nonetheless very tasty. Velvet city. Took a bottle home with me. Underrated by WS. 92+ pts.

1998 Eterno II Paradiso Toscana ($28)
100% Sangiovese aged in French oak. Juicy berry fruit. Not as leathery as most premium Sangioveses. Good value. 91 pts.

1999 Le Fonti Vito Arturo Toscana ($40)
Another 100% Sangiovese. Excellent. Worthy of RP's 92 pt rating. Impressive.

1997 Cavallotto Bricco Boschis Barolo ($41)
Floral nose. Light bodied, but full of plum and dried cherry flavor. Seems capable of aging for a couple decades, but approachable now. 91-92 pts.

Work should be fun tomorrow.

Cheers,

Otis

otisabdul -

My wife picked up a bottle of the 1999 Tignanello at Costco yesterday ($63), so your notes on that wine are timely and much appreciated.

What did WS say about the wine, such that you think they underrated it? Also, any advice on how long to hold this wine before drinking ? (Although from your notes, it sounds like it is drinking fine right now)

Thanks.

madalex: Upon further investigation, Sam's included the WS review for the '98 Tig in the descriptor for the '99 Tig in the tasting brochure. The '98 was given an 89-pt rating. As far as I can tell, WS has actually not rated this wine yet. Sorry for the confusion.

I am willing to venture that the '99 will eventually receive a rating of at least 92 pts. It's really well-made, with ample amounts of structure and fruit. But the velvety smooth texture is my favorite part.

If you only have one bottle (like I do), I'd wait at least 2-3 years to let a little more of the fruit come to the fore. It certainly seems like it can improve and hold for at least a decade. That being said, I don't think you'd be disappointed if you cracked it in the short-term and let it breathe for a couple hours. It stood out last night even without decanting.

Cheers,

Otis

Sounds like I should have blown off the Cubs game to go to this. Oh well, there's always next time.

Otis,

I am glad you liked the Terrabianca. The floral components are amazing in this wine. Did you buy any of this?

IW

IW,

My wife hustled me out of the store after only half of my purchases were completed. She was correctly frightened that I was SUI (Shopping Under the Influence). I did manage to plop the Tig, Riondo, Jermann, and Elena Walch in my cart before I was cut off.

However, I plan on surfing Sam's web site later today to assemble a mixed case of the following:

'99 Terrabianca Ceppate
'99 San Francesco Ronco Dei Quattroventi Ciro
'97 Remo Farina Amarone
'00 Fonterutoli Badiola Toscana
'98 Eterno II Paradiso Toscana
'99 Le Fonti Vito Arturo Toscana
'97 Cavallotto Bricco Boschis Barolo
'98 Marcarini La Serra Barolo ($39) - forgot to mention this one last night. More "feminine" than the "Brunate". Really elegant and approachable right now. Pretty good price for a Barolo of this caliber. 92 pts.

Cheers,

Otis

Otis,

Thanks for the notes. I was thinking about some of these wines so your notes are helpful. Sounds like you need to do what I do when I go to Sams with my wife. Either send her to the market section of the store or to the Smith & Hawken store across the parking lot.

VM

PS. October 4th is looking good for a happy hour.

VM: Good advice on the diversion technique.

Oct 4th is still open for me. Let's work out the details via email. Looking forward to it.

-O

I'm very jealous. Those wines are very hard for us to come by here on the other side of the globe.
Great notes (even if they make me lust after the wines) cheers and thanks Otis.

My wife hates going to Sam's so I don't have any diversion tactics. The only thing I have to dodge is the stuff she throws at me when I get my credit card statement.

Otisabdul - I just found the Tig today and remembered how much I liked it. Thanks for the TN reminder!!

Winetex: I'm glad others on this board like the '99 Tig as much as I do! I noticed that a couple have listed it in Dr.T's top ten thread.

I can't find a full tasting note on '99 Tig in the WS database, but the Tuscany report in the just-received 10/31 issue is showing that J. Suckling gave it 90 pts. I think that's at least 2 pts too low.

Cheers,

Otis