Sassy Stuff
Bovine Wine Club, Sassicaia, Argentine Chardonnay
I wrote about the Sassicaia 2021 in The Hub this week here. As I wrote in the piece, I didn’t realize at the tasting that Monica Larner at Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate gace it a perfect score of 100 points. I wonder if I would have tasted it differently had I known. I’m sure Larner’s opinion would have influenced mine, but I had already gone into the tasting expecting greatness, so I’m not sure it would have really mattered, and I had already read Jancis Robinson’s glowing review of the wine, anyway.
I’ll leave it to the expert tasters to explain why the 2021 is particularly better than the 2019, or 2020, both of which were also poured in the presence of Signora Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta at the tasting. I am satisfied that I had a very good glass of wine (I describe it in the Hub piece), even though it has years to go before it hits anything like point.
Sassicaia is not just a luxury brand. It’s a luxury brand that pioneered its own category: the Super Tuscan wines and the Bolgheri appellation. It must have been great fun to taste the first commercially available vintages of it in the early 1970s. In the 2020s Sassicaia tastes to me like a left bank Bordeaux with an Italian accent.
I had a brief interview with Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta before the tasting. Signora Incisa, gave me no scoops as we discussed the history of her family’s San Guido estate. (This is ground well covered at the Tenuta San Guido website and in another Hub piece on Sassicaia I wrote in 2022.)
It occured to me that there must be a thousand families making wine across the world who would wish for their wine the success that has come to Sassicaia. Did Incisa della Rocchetta have any advice for them? She replied with a kind of standard answer that is boring but undoubtly absolutely true: that they should follow their own light and make the wine they want as best as they can.
Then, Incisa della Rocchetta reminded me that her grandfather Mario made wine at San Guido for decades before it occurred to him and the family to sell any of it at the suggestion of their Antinori cousins. The 1,000 hectare estate, which employs around 180 people year round, happens to have a winery, but functions in all kinds of other ways, including being the family seat.
Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot were planted because the sandy soils seemed Bordeaux-like. I suspect the family thought it would be fun to make their own “1st Growth” wines. 80 or 90 years later, a hobby has become a $300 bottle of wine that sells out in minutes.
I am working on a piece about the soon to open Bovine Wine Club at Union Station. James Peden, Director of Operations at Liberty Entertainment Group, and Patrick Kelly, who will serve as the club’s Operations Manager, walked me through the building site. More importantly, they walked me through the concept, which promises to be something of a game changer in the wine club, wine storage scene.
Bovine Wine Club will, apart from storage lockers, have its own kitchen and dining areas. Crucially, it will be licensed, so members can either raid their own stash or order from the list, or both. Members can also leverage Liberty Entertainment Group’s wine buying dominance, with opportunities at offers and alotments not available to regular consumers. More details to come on this next month.
LEG is on something of a roll lately. DaNico was just awarded a Michelin Star, joining fellow LEG property, Don Alfonso. (I wrote about DaNico at MJWJ in May here.) Also étoilée was DaNico’s Ashleigh Forster (pictured above) who is the well deserved Michelin Toronto 2024 Sommelier Award Winner.
Finally, I saw the ad below in a Noble Estates newsletter and thought to pass it on in support of good wine and good food for a good cause. It would be hard to find a better way to see and taste what all the fuss is about.
WINE RECOMMENDATIONS
Please enjoy these recommendations. Recommendations here are free for all subscribers… for now. Soon these just-in-time wine recommendations for LCBO Vintages releases, Ontario wine releases and wines on direct offer from importing agents will be reserved for paid subscribers to Malcolm Jolley Wino Journalist. That and more. Get ahead of the curve today and please support my work by being a paid subscriber. NEW: enjoy a 30% for group subscriptions.
Santa Julia El Zorrito 2023
Price: $21.95
Channel: LCBO Vintages
Producer: Santa Julia
Country: Argentina
Region: Mendoza
Appellation: N/A
Grapes: Chardonnay
Alcohol by Volume: 13%
Sugar Content: 2 grams per litre
I picked up a couple bottles of the El Zorrito Chardonnay for a dinner with friends to plan an upcoming trip to Argentina. I bought it for fun because it wasn’t from one of the bigger labels that dominant imports into our market. They make some very nice wines, but I wanted to see what else was out there.
When I poured I noticed the El Zorrito was a little darker in hue than a typical Chardonnay. It was at this point that I deduced that the word “naranjo” on the label meant orange, and that’s the kind of wine I bought. I began to think of excuses to give around the table, but I needn’t have bothered because the El Zorrito was well received and made a lovely aperitif with snacks before dinner.
The El Zorrito Naranjo is an orange wine for people (like me) who think they don’t like orange wine. Maybe it’s the Chardonnay, but it doesn’t taste particularly orange, and the tannins are just discernable without distracting from the acid and fruit, which is still lemony and hit right on the mid-palate. It’s organic and holds a number of other sustainability badges, but there’s no bitter self-righteousness in the glass: it’s just a good sipper for early fall evenings, and worth a try at $22.
https://www.lcbo.com/en/santa-julia-el-zorrito-naranjo-natural-chardonnay-2023-36183
Marina Danieli Merlot 2018
Price: $20.95
Channel: LCBO Vintages
Producer: Marina Danieli
Country: Italy
Region: Friuli
Appellation: Friuli Colli Orientali DOC
Grapes: Merlot
Alcohol by Volume: 13.5%
Sugar Content: 2 grams per litre
This wine was featured earlier this week in a message to MJWJ paid subscribers. There is still stock left in the LCBO system. The recommendation stands.
The Danieli family have been growing Merlot in Northeast Italy, close to the border with Slovenia since the end of the 19th century. Marina Danieli is the fifth generation of this winemaking legacy, and while her 2018 Merlot gives many nods back to tradition, it is thoroughly modern, and astoundingly good value.
The character is pronounced and pure black currant and blackberry fruit, round and full on the mid-palate. It’s juicy and tremendously satisfying and after six years its tannins have turned to silk. This wine is exciting and vibrant; it will be remarked on.
This wine wants a turkey dinner; it will very happily play the role of a cranberry sauce alternative. It is a shot of purple into a mouthful of brown that will lighten heavy foods and enhance saiety. It’s also a crowd pleaser and encourages the giving of thanks… if you don’t drink it all before the long weekend.
https://www.lcbo.com/en/marina-danieli-merlot-2018-36984
