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Moe picked the next selection up at the winery a few years ago: 1994 Clos du Val Napa Sangiovese Tre Grazie $NA; 13.5 % alc.: This ruby garnet is a little leathery, with added hints of tobacco over dull plum flavors and aromas; what fruit is still here will probably not survive the gripping tannins. Boring!
It was at about that time that BD persuaded his son Matt (who has recently been accepted at the Interlochen Summer Music Camp) to perform at the piano for us, and a splendid job he did. Then, Sarah (who just happens to be Matt’s piano teacher) gave a lovely reading of a movement from a Beethoven sonata, followed by a Broadway showtune that I didn’t record the name of, and we were all very impressed. We weren’t quite finished with the wines yet, as the Zinvocate had brought along a new Peter Weygandt selection from Australia, the 1997 T & C Soderstrom Viking Grand Shiraz Barossa Valley, which is reportedly made from fruit that formerly went into Penfolds Grange. (Mark, Kim, Canadian Zinfan and I had tasted this a few weeks previous at Mike’s, but it was late in the evening and our recollections were rather foggy.) An inky garnet, this shows an effusive nose of spicy plum and maple syrup, all dressed in lovely oak that is never heavy handed. Deep dark black cherry flavors shaded with caramel mesmerized us all, and it should come as no surprise that this was everyone’s favorite wine of the evening, despite its decidedly non-Italian heritage. We finished the evening with a taste of a 1993 Il Podere Dell’ Olivos Pronto Aleatico dessert wine, a cloudy tired red that nevertheless exhibited pleasant flavors of what was variously described as "raisin-y," "big sweet cherry pie with sugar on the finish," and according to Kim, "kind of a Welches Grape Juice thing goin’ on there." We had a terrific time, as always, but JFO and Jamie will be sadly disappointed to hear that this collection of Cal-Sangios didn’t exactly set us on fire with regard to the progress being made with the varietal on the left coast. Perhaps time will tell a different tale, but for now, this taster will look to the old country for his Tuscan reds. For another slant on the Cal-Italia movement see califusa's report. Reporting from Day-twah, Ill Bastardo
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At this point, the ‘deauxnut poured us all a glass from a beautiful crystal
decanter that had been sitting patiently off to the side. Kim’s
immediate reaction to this dark garnet was "Wow! This’ll suck the saliva right
out of your mouth!" And indeed, it was quite astringent and backward, grudgingly
giving up plum and prune characteristics, with hints of leather and tobacco. Even after Mark reveals this to be the 1995
Tignanello, nobody is raving, but I snuck a second glass anyway. It
finally started to loosen up some, showing added notes of coffee and chocolate, but still,
it only hinted at what a beauty it will become by its 10th birthday.
