Marc De Grazia sure can pick ‘em
These wines, all Marc de Grazia selections, triggered a most emotional response today:
Ciacci Piccolomini D’Aragona 2000 Ateo $35.
Winery: Ciacci Piccolomini D’Aragona
Area: Montalcino in Tuscany
Grapes: Sangiovese, Cabernet, Merlot
Pronounced “Chachi,” as in Joanie loves, the Ateo has the righteous stink of Italy all over it–dried cherry and sage, and is that tea? Sooo pretty and deep. Feels like silk, with the smack of leather. I give this my highest rating: I’d pay retail for this one. Oh, and Ateo means “athiest.” So that’s cool, too. Why this is still in the warehouse, I dunno.
Sometimes I Google stuff just to see what’s out there. Here’s a sentence from Italian Wine Merchants about Ciacci, “Highly regarded palates consistently rank the Ciacci Piccolomini wines in the top 10th percentile…” Not to piss on the parade that is Mario Batali, but WTF? What palates? Where? Percentile? Were these standardized tests? Multiple choice? Essay? Blind? How many people read how many dumb ass sentences like this every day without asking the simple question, what the fuck?
Caggiano 2004 Tari IGT $18.
Winery: Caggiano
Area: Taurasi, the middle of Campania
Grape: Aglianico
Plummy sweet aroma, very spicy, but subtle, and… fresh pepper. Aglianico is one of the grand grapes of Italy and reminds me of a dark, brooding version of Nebbiolo. This wine feels light but still makes quite an impact in your mouth, then it packs up and lets the soft tannins clean up after. It’s nice to see some classy vino coming out of the underachieving Campania region. If you like Rhone wines, I’d consider this a freakin’ steal compared to anything similar en Francais.
E. Pira e Figli 2001 Barolo Cannubi Boschis $75.
Winery: E. Pira e Figli
Area: hills of Barolo in Piedmont
Vineyard: Cannubi Boschis
Grape: Nebbiolo
Five years, and this wine is still not giving much up. But it smells and tastes of its pedigree, like any fine Barolo should. You know how you can look at an expensive handbag or dress and see the workmanship and know it’s expensive? Wine’s like that. It just smells superior. Cannubi makes the most elegant wines in Barolo, cherry and plum with violet and wild spice. Blissing out on this wine, I think, “Burgundy who?”
Marc de Grazia wines are available through Elliot Bay Distributing in Washington state.
September 14th, 2006 at 10:33 pm
You’re the only one who can make Italian wine make sense. I like how you list the areas and grapes, that helps alot for those of us who can’t tell which is which.
October 10th, 2006 at 11:17 am
Here’s a nice story illustrating the beauty of the Internet and the virtual community that can be created by you generous people who take the time to share experiences on your blogs.
A close friend of mine here in Seattle is a Caggiano, so I decided to buy a bottle of the Tari for him, assuming that the common name was simply a fluke. It turns out that the winemakers are his direct family, and he visited the estate with his parents in Taurasi a few years ago on a trip to Italy. He had no idea that the wines were available anywhere in the States.
Thank you for bringing the wine to our attention, and I’m wondering how you found it in the first place.
April 17th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Blog Hopper…
Hi There. I’m blog hopping….