At Zi’s birthday celebration, courtesy of James.

This wine confused the shit outta me, and is why I always like having a somm or nerd around to educate me about this. I was so confused.

In the glass: this was a deep dark dense ruby garnet core with clear garnet in the rim.

The nose was what confused the absolute balls outta me: intense aromatic, and HIGHLY concentrated. I smelled mainly dark fruits (black currant), with a very mild oak, and a bright mint finish. I could’ve sworn this was a well-made Cali cab blend/pure cab. I actually couldn’t smell any Sangiovese for the life of me? So confused. Also, the nose was so round and just. Plush.. this is very different from the Antinori’s Tiganello, which has a leaness to it.

On the palette: this must be the magic of the wine. I first noticed the concentration of the body, with deep dark fruits on exhale, High acidity and an exceptionally long finish. But there was something else: on entry and onto the palate: there was a fiiiiine powdery tannins. This wasn’t smooth like the milky richness of a top volnay – this was distinctly fine grained, and just quite. Amazing? The tannins do get considerably more resolved at the back and sides of the tongue after swallowing, but very palatable. I was so amazed by the tannins i wondered if I was imagining it / there was interference by my food. I actually ate a bunch of bread, butter, drank a ton of water and tried scrapping my tongue with my teeth (heheh) to reset my palate; it IS exactly as I first detected it. Damn.

I need to do some research / ask James about this. The sheer concentration of almost exclusively dark fruits, coupled with the lack of earth, wood, funk, would’ve suggested a new world / Cali pure cab sauv or a blend. Super confused.

Anyway this wine can go the distance. It’s still insanely young

Update: upgraded to 4.5 after resolving my initial confusion hehehe.