June 8, 2023 - Barolo vs. Super Tuscan
/June marks the last of our WAC Wine Club events for the 2022-2023 year, and what better way to end the season than with a Barolo versus Super Tuscan tasting. The five wineries highlighted are some of the best in all of Italy! You’ll have a chance to experience wines made of 100% Nebbiolo alongside Super Tuscan wines that feature some exquisite combinations of Sangiovese and Bordeaux varieties. The Tuscan coast witnessed the birth of the first Super-Tuscan starting a trend that began in the 1970s that lives on today. Your WAC Wine Club cellar team has made sure to buy only the best for consumption along the way—and the time is now!
We are thrilled to be joined by Nick Davis, founder and Creative Director of Medium Plus
2007 Giovanni Rosso Cerretta Barolo DOCG
Produced by a small, family-owned winery in the heart of a Barolo commune of Serralunga d’Alba, this wine made from Nebbiolo grapes exhibits rose, red berry and dark spice aromas on the nose followed by a palate that delivers juicy red cherry, raspberry compote, dried mint and licorice. The 2007 Cerretta Barolo represents Serralunga’s hallmark of firm structure, finesse along with a full-bodied mouth feel. Says winemaker Davide Giovanni, “Wine should be a perfect copy of its terroir” and in this case, his wines do come from the finest soils in the world.
2008 Gaja DaGromis Barolo DOCG
Perched atop a steep hill in the Langhe of the Piedmont valley sits the small village of Barbaresco, home of Gaja winery. A philosophy that began over 150 years ago, Gaja’s purpose has been to produce original wines with a sense of place which reflect the tradition and culture of those who made it. The 2008 ruby red Gaja does exactly that—it shows notes of rose flower, black currant, blackberry, cherry, black licorice, tobacco and clove. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and well-balanced. Says Jancis Robisnon, “This Gaja example shows all the aristocratic posture of a great Nebbiolo”.
2009 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia
The famous Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta was the first to plant Cabernet Sauvignon vines for his own consumption in the 1940s on his San Guido estate, and it was he who decided to call this wine Sassicaia. Today Sassicaia has its own DOC designation within the Bolgheri DOC appellation. Says one wine critic, “This wine is insanely complex yet subtle with so much going on, with a beautiful balance and tension. Elegance with force. Hard not to drink”. The nose is full of caramel notes, dense red fruit, black currant, cherry, herbs and spice flavors. The palate exhibits ripe blackberry, cherry and sweet currants with flavors of cedar, vanilla spice, leather, bits of tar and cacao, a powerhouse. A truly superior wine!
2011 Antinori Tignanello Sangiovese
The Antinori family has been committed to the art of winemaking for over six centuries since 1385, when Giovanni di Piero Antinori became a member of the “Arte Fiorentina dei Vinattieri,” the Florentine Winemakers’ Guild. Says another wine critic, “This is probably one of the best Tignanello's ever made”! The 2011 Tignanello demonstrates a very ripe and fruit-forward personality with bursting cherry and blackberry folded within sweet spice, moist tobacco and honey-almond paste. Ruby, rose, clear color; fresh grapes, red fruit, marble and stone on the nose; paprika, some cinnamon and fresh cherry on the palate.
The word "Magari" has several meanings: "if only," "would that it were true," "perhaps”. The Gaja Winery was founded by Giovanni Gaja in 1859 in the small village of Barbaresco in the Piedmont area (the home of the 2008 Gaja DaGromis described above). It has been owned and operated by five generations of the Gaja family. In 1996 Gaja acquired its Ca'Marcanda property, located in Castagneto Carducci in Bolgheri, Tuscany. Of the property's 200 acres, 150 have been planted with new vineyards: primarily Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, as well as Cabernet Franc and Syrah. Lush cherry and blackberry emerge on the nose from this blend of mostly Merlot with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. This luscious wine starts with aromas of espresso, coffee, black plum and cooking spices followed by a palate that delivers black currants and black cherry layered with espresso, dark chocolate and toasted oak.
