Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Tignanello 2004 Super Tuscan IGT

Had July 20 evening at Tom and Deborah's (with Gabriel, Clay, Inge), purchased from area, good wine store for about $80 (average price on Winesearcher is around $120). This wine is actually #4 wine of the year by Wine Spectator in 2007!

Clearly it's too young; it's deep but pretty closed in the nose and needed 30-45minutes to open up a bit. With air we get tarry Sangiovese dark red spicy fruit, perhaps a bit of cherry, a bit of violet, blueberry and currant. This took 45-60 min. to open and probably the wine should have been decanted. With air too the finish became wonderfully long and complex, pleasantly vanilla notes, with caramelized plummy quality (called raisin below) aided by the Belgian cheeses and prosciutto that went beautifully with the wine. THere's plenty of fruit, acid and tannin, but the latter two need integration.

Drinkability would be best 2012-2025 (which more or less matches the professionals below). I would not give it 95 points, more like 92+, but this may be due to the greater ability to judge future potential among the professional wine critics.

Wine spectator 95 points
Offers aromas of blackberry, with hints of raisin and lots of spices. Full and velvety, with wonderful concentration and a long, rich finish. Very stylish and exciting. Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best after 2012. 26,665 cases made. –JS

3 notes from Parker

The estate’s 2004 Tignanello is a modern-day classic. Suggestions of macerated cherries, menthol, sweet spices, licorice and French oak meld seamlessly into a perfumed silky-textured core of ripe fruit. The tannins remain incredibly fine throughout. The wine’s vibrant color and fresh flavors suggest it will age gracefully over the next decade. This is a remarkably refined Tignanello. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2019. 95 pts

Pale+ ruby colour. Subtle, slightly closed aromas of red cherry, raspberry, violets, mocha and cinnamon on the nose. The medium+ bodied palate provides a great intensity of cherry, spice and tea flavours balanced by crisp acidity. Medium to firm, grainy, very fine tannins and a long, long finish. Young. Drink 2010 – 2020+. Tasted November 2008. 95 pts

The 2004 Tignanello (85% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc) presents a livelier shade of ruby along with fresher aromatics and flavors. Deeply expressive, it reveals black cherries, licorice, tar and sweet toasted oak on a linear, silky-textured frame of great class and elegance, showing outstanding presence on the palate and fine tannins to round out the finish. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2019. 93 points

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