Want to know why reputable reviewers and wine competition judges taste wines blind, without knowing their identities? Here’s a stunning case in point, by which I mean a clearly commercial wine in what one would assume is very broad circulation — that achieves genuine excellence. Very true to the region of origin, this shows fruit notes recalling dried red cherries, along with accent notes of tobacco leaf and damp earth, with absolutely no extraneous sweetness but no astringency either. Clearly excellent, this begs to be show – blind — to the blowhard wine guy in your life. Platinum Award winner at the 2013 San Diego International Wine Competition.
Cupcake Vineyards, Chianti DOCG (Tuscany, Italy) 2011
By Michael Franz