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Friday, September 5, 2014

Reprise: Tassinaia



~ Castello del Terriccio gazes out upon the Meditteranean ~

Last January,  I detailed the wonderful estate of Castello del Terriccio in an extensive feature article.  After being so impressed with their Super Tuscan blend Tassinaia,  I quickly added some bottles to my cellar.  
 
Over the past week,  I couldn't resist to check in on this beauty and I'm very pleased to see where this is heading.  
 

 
The 2006 Tassinaia is a deep violet color throughout. The nose is perfumed and complex with abundant  notes of crushed berries and plums, tobacco, menthol, black licorice and roasted cocoa. On the palate the wine is massive and some of the tannins have shed slightly since last year. This is ripe and very fleshy in texture. The core of black fruits is accented by savory herbs, mint, ground coffee and warmed terracotta. This is powerful and very elegant. Stunning and a great value. 95 points.  About $40.  Stock up!
 
~ Created in 1994, Tassinaia is one of the few Super Tuscans to feature Sangiovese grown in Bolgheri.  The blend is typically 34% Sangiovese, 33% Merlot and 33% Cabernet.  Carlo Ferrini is the Consultanting Winemaker ~
 
Salute!

7 comments:

  1. Ouffff .. This wine looks fantastic.. Unfortunately we only had 1 shipment in qc and EVERY SINGLE bottle from all around the province was gone the next day :( .. I couldn't believe it.. At 30$ I guess this would have been a steal? By the way CC from fontodi and isole e olena just arrived here.. They sell respectively at 32$ and 34$ .. doesn't make sense to me..

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  2. At $30, I'd buy a case! Regarding the CC's - Fontodi is ridiculous here. In Italy, we drank it likely crazy because it was about 20 Euro. Isole is about $22 here in the US. That's not on the level of Fontodi, IMO. The best CC value to me - lately - is Monteraponi, Castello di Bossi, and Felsina. I could stock my cellar with those three and never want for more.

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  3. Roland, it's fairly easy to find in our area. Shoot me an email if you need some help.

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  4. ok ok I'm building up excitement to find this wine lol.. I'll definitely try to be more on the lookout for the next arrival of this one.

    2 years ago i bought a 2007 Fontodi CC at the winery for a mere 13$ Euro.. Those 3 other CC are super hard to find here!! If not impossible for Monteraponi cause of course it is not even imported..

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  5. Raph, shocked you don't see Felsina. Can you get Campochiarenti? Not Classico, but soulful affordable wines.

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  6. I see Felsina once in a while but.. 28$ .. so I try to stick to the best vintages... No Campochiarenti, also not imported.. And for Castello di Bossi, they only import the CCR, which usually stays on the shelves for a week or two.. For well priced and soulfoul CC, I find myself always going back to Fontalpino and San Fabiano, which are both about 21$.. There are still a few affordable (under 30$) and very good CCR, I'm thinking of Villa Cerna, Castello di Gabbiano, Il grigio from San Felice or even Marchese Antinori but the best ones are pretty rare and are above or even way above 30$... By the way I recently had the 2009 Villa Cafaggio CCR and it was delicious! thanks!

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