A very good IGT from a spectacular region in Italy…
Name: Poggio al Tufo Rompicollo
Vintage: 2015
Producer: Poggio al Tufo
Region/Country: Maremma Toscana, Tuscany, Italy
Grape Varietal(s): Sangiovese (60%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (40%)
Alcohol Level: 13%
Consumed: At home on a brisk fall evening
Recommended By: Picked it off the shelf at the LCBO
Cost: $18.95
Bottle Presentation: Clean, attractive label with a red, gold, and orange colour palate.
Appearance: Clear, medium ruby
Nose: Clean, medium intensity nose, with a noticeable level of alcohol. We enjoyed ripe red cherries, ripe strawberries, and blueberries, as well as black licorice, garrigue, graphite, and coffee.
Palate: Dry, with a light-medium body, high acidity and medium tannins. Prominent flavours included sour red cherries, tart strawberries, blueberries, earth, graphite, garrigue, and dark chocolate.
Finish: A medium-long finish comprised of earth and dark chocolate notes.
Overall Impressions: A very good IGT with good balance, complexity, and length. We found the alcohol noticeable despite it being only 13%. Although you could enjoy this red blend now, it has decent cellaring potential, and we would expect the alcohol to settle down over time. We appreciated the clean, attractive label, as well the prominent red fruit notes, which was somewhat surprising given the significant proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon. For us, this wine represented outstanding value for the money. It paired nicely with a thin crust pizza made with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, garlic, sundried tomatoes, and red peppers.
Rating: 90/100
E-Wine rating: 4/5 (We would purchase two bottles of this red, one to drink now and one to drink in a couple of years)
Value: 4.5/5