Monte Antico Toscana 2006

I was surprised to see this little gem in ANBL when I popped in the other day.  Kelly and I drove to North Carolina for a cycling vacation this spring and we stopped at New Hampshire Liquor on our way down.  The Monte Antico was advertised as #61 on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 of 2009, and the blurb was something to the effect that it was the best value wine on the whole list.  For only $11, we had to give it a try.  And it was a winner.  Very well balanced, medium to full bodied, with bright fruit and soft tannins.  WS gave it a 90.  I’m not sure I’d go quite that high, but somewhere in that ball park is about right.  At $11 it was a off the charts for value – it’s the best $13 red I can recall.  At $19 from ANBL, it’s still good value. 

Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon
$18.79
4/5

Mazzei Poggio Alla Badiola 2006

For me, this is another value pick. The nose is full of ripe, dark berries, violets, cloves, juniper, and licorice on. All of that follows on the palate, which is clear and long and characterized by puckering tannins from mid to finish. Its character is distinctly Italian. Even at only 30%, the Merlot really seems to round out the Sanviovese, which I find can be a bit thin and acidic.

Price: $ 19.79
Value 4/5
Score: 90
Region: Italy, Tuscany
Grape: Sangiovese, Merlot
UPC: 8016118241053

Monte Antico 2006

Good reviews, bad reviews, mediocre reviews - they're all helpful. Here is one of the latter.

— Iron Chef’s Review —

I recently got an email about this wine rating it 90 pts from WS and I thought it would be fun to try.

Nose- Earthy, mushrooms and caramel. Some bright cherry fruit mixed in with oak.

Taste- Nice earthy favours with good oak. Restrained cherries with chocolate and coffee tastes. Some hollowness in the mid-palate. The finish was longer than expected.

Overall- The earthy aromas promised a better wine than the palate delivered. I still liked the wine, didn't love it. If I was going to spend $20 on this, I should have spent and extra $6 on Tommasi Ripasso Valpolicella or the Nipozzano Riserva.

Price: $18.79
Score 86
Value 2.5/5
Region: Tuscany
Grape: Sangiovese, Cab, Merlot (12.5%)

Villa Antinori Rosso 2004

Peanutman to the rescue! We’ve had a bit of a dry spell for reviews recently. We were away on vacation and I was away for a week on business. And the weather is getting warm enough that we’re just between red and white wine season – it’s that weird time we call “beer season.” Thankfully Peanutman is still drinking wine. Here is his review of the Villa Antinori Rosso

— Peanutman’s Review —

This wine has a nice red fruit bouquet and I think one could spend a lot of time simply smelling the wine. The taste was somewhat like ripened cherries with raspberry. I thought there was a little bit of pepper at the end but I could be wrong. In my books this was a very good italian wine for the price. The mix is Sangiovese (60%), Cab Sauv (20%), Merlot (15%) and Syrah (5%). I would say that it was medium bodied, some nice light tannins with a medium finish. Conclusion; a very enjoyable wine.

Price: $31.49
Score: 89
Value: 4.5/5
Region: Italy, Tuscany
Grape: Sangiovese blend
UPC: 8001935001522

Tolaini al Passo 2004

I like the style of this wine - structured, elegant and dark - but there just wasn't enough there in terms of flavour, and I didn't much like the way it changed in the glass. Here is Kelly's note, which I completely agree with:

"Initially reserved on nose - cedar, blackberries, minerals, Christmas rum stewed fruit spice cake - smooth and long on the palate, ending with firm tannins. Just a bit hot or perhaps acidic on nose and palate. Over the course of the evening, the nose opened up a bit, and the wine became smoother and softer, taking on a stewed fruit character - but it also seemed to lose complexity on the nose and palate, so to me the change was not an improvement. We also tasted this wine at the Expo, and loved it; then N had it while I was in Q City and loved it; and I had it Sunday on my return, when I'd have rated it maybe 88. So I seem prefer it straight out of the bottle. Given the way this wine seems to evolve over an evening, I wouldn't be inclined to decant it; and while others have suggested it might be a bit young, I wouldn't necessarily agree that it will improve with cellar time."

In particular, I liked it better as soon as it was opened, when the firm structure gave it character. It softened in an hour or so, but didn't open up a great deal - just lost structure without getting more fruit. Does this mean it won't age well? My bet is that it is not one for the long haul. I'd be interested to know what others think. And I'd really be interested to see what actually happens in a few years. But I'm not sure I'll make the investment to find out.

Price: $29.99
Value: 3/5
Score: 87
Alcohol: 13.5%
Region: Italy, Tuscany
Grape: Sangiovese
Tasted: Nov 2008
UPC: 8032853380086

Banfi Centine 2005

The Centine is a blend of 60% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot. The blend works beautifully. There is nothing of the leanness and acidity that is often associated with Sangiovese in this price range. On the contrary it has a soft lush quality that must come from the Merlot. In fact, it's maybe a bit too soft for my taste, though not by much. It has bright clean but slightly candied fruit in the mid-range - cherries, I suppose (though I have a wine blog, I'm not great at putting names to flavours. I leave that to Kelly.) Not a great deal of complexity, but you wouldn't really expect it at the price.

This is what Kelly says: "Stewed dark fruit, cloves, and cedar on nose, then smooth and slightly sweet on palate, progressing to firm tannins. Longish, balanced."

Price: $21.99
Score: 86(N) - 88(K)
Value: 3/5(N) - 4/5(K)
Alcohol: 12.5%
Tasted: Oct 2008
ANBL UPC: 8015674830862