2000 Fattoria di Felsina Fontalloro Toscana IGT 13.5%
Next Friday, Marcia and I are taking my daughter Olivia to visit Italy for the first time, so Italian wine is on my mind. This had attractive but not particularly distinctive aromas of dark cherry, leather, dishrag and barnyard, with some of that sangiovese meatiness, cooked rare and bloody (vegetarians beware). In the mouth, cherries became plums, add espresso and bonbon liquor. Alcohol well integrated, acidity just short of acceptable before food, and a discreet bitter finish. I was about to write this off as pretty good but nothing to send postcards home about when a funny thing happened on my way to the forum: with food, all of a sudden, it perked up and became very elegant, tasty and tasteful. Just goes to show you, you can't judge a book by its cover, or a wine in a vacuum. If the palate can be described as a Palatine Hill, this surely climbed it.