It was the hottest and most humid day of the year, so far, in NYC, and drinking big Italian Super Tuscans may not appear to be the ideal situation for 5 wine geeks. But then, as the evening progressed, it did turn out to be such a refreshingly relaxed and enjoyable night of good wines, food and company.
Here are my $0.02 during a dinner/tasting at La Grolla in NYC.
1994 Sassicaia
Floral, ripe red fruit on the nose
Elegant ripeness, fine tannin, lot’s of ripe cherries and strawberries, medium body with a medium chewy finish. Drinking nicely and, in terms of my limited experience with this producer IMHO, as well as it could be possibly be at this point for the next few years. B+
1996 Sassicaia
Slightly earthy, dark fruit and flowery nose.
Ripe, very sweet on the attack, definitely bigger than the 1994, balance was overwhelmed by the ripeness, but somewhat rounded out and showed slightly better integration with some time in the glass. B
2001 Sassicaia
Complex nose of early-morning meadow, leafy, fresh meat, smoke and ripe black fruit.
This wine was tannic at the onset, but over time revealed beautiful ripeness, slight creaminess, layers of firm and ripe blue and black berries, hints of grilled meats, all within a framework of excellent balance and good solid structure. Long and tasty finish. My WOTN. A
2003 Sassicaia
Very lush, ripe and sweet. My more knowledgeable co-tasters informed me about the growing condition, with specifics on the heat, for this vintage that contributed to its structure. I think that this will be drinking better with a few more years of bottle age. B+
2004 Sassicaia
Lot’s of oak, caramel, cappuccino, gobs of ripe fruit, very new world. Short finish. B
1997 Ornellaia
So as not to duplicate one of the Sassicaia vintage for the tasting, Tim decided, to everybody’s delight, to bring this bottle.
Very much on the international style, this inky, dark wine accentuated its delicious merlot component, especially after the slew of Sassicaia. The gorgeous nose on this wine showed fresh meat, wood, leafy and wet earth. Very ripe, specks of white pepper, and hard candy. A big wine that will probably be better with years and years of bottle age. A-
2000 Dom. Zind Humbrecht Pinot d’Alsace
An off-the-refrigerated-shelf purchase by Brad, I found this to be a nice refreshing way to finish the tasting. Off-dry, with bursts of acidity, light, honeyed, lemon and some tropical fruit. B+
Ramon