by Frank Mangio
When I heard that the ’04 Tignanello was coming to a wine event at the lovely Via Italia Restaurant in Encinitas, run by the loquacious and lovable Paolo Pedrazzani, I had to be a witness to this peerless wine, recently awarded the best wine in Italy by Wine Spectator.
Tignanello has been a creation of Piero Antinori of the House of Antinori in Tuscany since the 1970 vintage. It was the first so called “Super Tuscan.”
Lorenzo Mottola, the Antinori representative who spoke at the wine dinner last month, (he is shown on the left in the accompanying photo with this writer and
Paolo the restaurant owner) presented the new release which Wine Spectator spotlighted at 95 points. “You will find intense ruby red color with garnet hues,” he enthused. “This wine is a carefully placed blend of mostly Sangiovese, with small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.
These wines are cultivated in small wood ‘barriques’ for 12 months after the traditional fermentation in large casks. Minute taste adjustments
are made before bottling and storing for another year.”
Antinori has been lauded as the premier winemaker in Italy. I studied Italian wines under his tutelage when I went for my Wine Spectator Certification. The ’04 offers aromas of blackberry with hints of raisin, perfectly spiced.
A long, rich finish bolsters the conclusion that this is a historic vintage, stylish and “Sangiovese-style” exciting. In its creation, it was a new breed of all-red wine and with it, the first wine in Italy to stop adhering to the stuffy, rigid rules of the Italian government. Paolo and his chef served Ossobuco di Vitello, a braised veal with vegetables in Sangiovese wine, on a bed of corn meal Polenta.
Perfetto! The Tignanello 2004 instantly made my top ten tastes of 2007.
Suggested price is $75. It will only get more wonderful after four years of cellaring, that is if you have the willpower to wait that long.
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