Wine Club - Bonus Tasting

We just finished our 3rd six month session of Wine Club, so this Thursday was time for the bonus tasting. Our Wine Club format is as follows – there are 11 members in Wine Club and each month everyone pays $25. We meet on the 3rd Thursday of the month and I pre-buy a case of wine for the tasting. We split the 12th bottle of the case between everyone and each person then takes home a bottle. We will usually pick-up a second bottle that is made by a different producer to split as a comparison to the first bottle. The price point usually ranges between $13-25 a bottle so usually at the end of a six month session there is some money left over for a bonus tasting.

"Two expensive wines"

For the bonus tasting we don’t take home any bottles, so usually the wines we are trying are at a much higher price point.

This tasting we looked at two higher end Italian wines. Below is the LCBO and Wine Spectator information for both wines -

LCBO Information -

TIGNANELLO

VINTAGES 986786
750 mL bottle

Price: $ 99.95
Wine, Red Wine,
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Tuscany, Italy
By: Marchese Antinori
Release Date: Oct 11, 2008

Description - Consistently one of the most sought-after wines, this is a must for any cellar. 'Tig' is considered one of the best Italian wines, racking up numerous awards and accolades with each and every vintage. This rich and spicy blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc is loaded with blackberry, coffee, tar and truffle aromas. It should be cellared for 2-10 years, or decant it for at least two hours and match it with beef Wellington or a roasted lamb with a wild mushroom risotto.

QUINTARELLI VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO SUPERIORE 2000

VINTAGES 986117
750 mL bottle

Price: $ 89.95

Wine, Red Wine,

12.6% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : D

Made in: Veneto, Italy

By: Quintarelli Guiseppe

Release Date: Feb 28, 2009

Description - 'The Quintarelli family, led by the great Giuseppe, sends a strong message of continuity for the legendary Valpolicella area. The wines do the rest...' (Gambero Rosso Italian Wines, 2008) Opulent, velvety and brimming with ripe red berry fruit, this wine aptly showcases Quintarelli's winemaking mastery. Quintarelli is without question one of the greatest winemakers still practising his art.

The Wine Spectator

ANTINORI Toscana Tignanello 2005

Pretty and fresh aromas of flowers, berry and licorice. Full-bodied, with ultrafine tannins and a solid core of fruit. Very pretty and balanced. Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best after 2011. 26,250 cases made. –JS Rating - 92

GIUSEPPE QUINTARELLI Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2000

This has plum jam, cardamom and mineral on the nose, with a hint of cedar. Medium-bodied, with spicy plum and prune flavors, a very fine texture and a tight, spicy finish. Delicious. Drink now. 750 cases made. –JC Rating – 88

As you can see at $100 and $90 for each bottle these are well above our usual price point. The question is did they stand up to that extra price point?

I was feeling a little guilty about opening the Tignanello (‘Tig’) as it contain Cabernet Sauvignon. I have a rule that I don’t like to open quality Cabs. until at least 5 and preferably 6 years after the date on the bottle. I find that extra time smoothes out the wine and makes it much better than it was. I poured out the Tig about an hour and half before we had it as I was hoping that the exposure to air would soften the wine. I didn’t have the same issues with the Quintarelli as it was a 2000 vs. 2005 that the Tig was.

The Quintarelli was much thinner in colour density then the Tig and the Quintarelli was leaning more to a brownish red where as the Tig was deep ruby-purple in colour. The nose on the Quintarelli was heavy with plum and cherry with a touch of a floral note in the background. The Tig had a huge nose of oak, vanilla, berry and a woody aroma which I couldn’t pin down.

Tasting the wines was fun as they were both very different from each other. The Quintarelli was a medium bodied, incredibly smooth and easy drinking wine with a lovely cherry and white pepper flavor running throughout the wine. The Tignanello was a huge monster of a wine; big and bold. The tannin was a touch astringent and this wine could definitely use a couple more years of aging, but you could easily see the potential to this wine. The Tig with a nice prime rib roast would be stunning. Even though both wines were very different they were both excellent in their own ways.

Would I buy either of these two wines again at their price points; yes and no? At a $90 price point, I would have a hard time buying the Quintarelli again; it was excellent but for $90 I could get a good Amarone for around $60 and a pretty good Valpolicella for around $25 which that combo would be a much better value. That is probably the biggest problem I have with it is that Valpolicella usually runs in the $15 to $30 range so $90 is a big leap. I think a big part of that $90 price is that there were only 750 cases made so it is fairly scarce.

The Tig at a $100 is certainly a wine that I would want to pick-up a bottle and lay it down on the rack for 3-4 years and try again.

Cheers!

Mark