| Two Italian Gems
We have two stunning (and rather difficult to obtain) wines for you today! Both are iconic Italian gems and very worthy of your wine collection.
Gottardi Blauburgunder Mazzon 2008
(Trentino/Alto Adige, Italy)
Bruno Gottardi, pictured above in the Mazzon vineyard which lies above Neumarkt in Alto Adige (South Tyrol in Northern Italy).
This region has always been known as "Pinot Noir heaven" and the best place in Italy for growing this demanding grape. Their heightened location is facing the sun in the afternoon and therefore has optimal qualification for creating one of South Tyrol's best wines. South Tyrol is, apart from Burgundy, one of the few cultivable areas where Pinot Noir shows high quality and its typical expression.
"The 2008 Blauburgunder Mazzon (Pinot Noir) is a super-classy wine laced with sweet red cherries, flowers, spices and mint. There is something utterly beguiling about the 2008 that make it very hard to put down the glass despite the wine’s understated and at times reticent personality. This is a great showing from Gottardi. I can't help noting that this bottle is far more impressive than the bottle I tasted last year. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2018." (Wine Advocate)
Wine Advocate: 93 points
$53.99/bottle or $259.15/6 pack case ($43.19/bottle) or just $43.19/bottle in a mixed case of wine.
Rocca di Frassinello Le Sughere 2009
(Tuscany, Italy)
Its silhouette is like a thin red line cutting the top of the Maremma gentle hills. This is Rocca di Frassinello, the winery that the world-renowned architect Renzo Piano has created for Paolo Panerai, in a first ever alliance between Italy and France for the production of wines. An alliance in which the Bordeaux culture of Domaines de Rothschild marries the noble heritage of the best Tuscan wines.
 
"The 2009 Le Sughere di Frassinello is simply dazzling in this vintage. Expressive floral notes are woven throughout a fabric of vibrant dark fruit in this intense, supple red. Racy and expressive from start to finish, the wine impresses for its fabulous harmony and ripe, explosive finish. Le Sughere is best described as the estate's second label. It is a 50% Sangioveto, 25% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged 12 months in French oak, 50% new. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2021. Rocca di Frassinello is a young winery, and the best is clearly yet to come." (Wine Advocate)
Wine Advocate: 93 points
"Focused and intense, offering cherry, raspberry, licorice and tea flavors. The ample fruit is offset by assertive tannins, leaving a grainy finish now. Needs time to integrate. Best from 2014 through 2025. 1,000 cases made." (Wine Spectator)
Wine Spectator: 92 points
"Le Sughere di Frassinello represents a blend of Sangiovese (50%), Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2009 shows a dark, inky color and alluring aromas of savory spice, mature fruit, plum, cherry and moist pipe tobacco. There's loads of heft and concentration in the mouth followed by a decadent, velvety finish." (Wine Enthusiast)
Wine Enthusiast: 90 points
$39.99/bottle or $191.95/6 pack case ($31.99/bottle) or just $31.99/bottle in a mixed case of wine. | 