A Taste As I Ran Out The Door!!!

Two weeks ago I went down to the KOBRAND (A U.S. Importer that represents brands such as Taittinger Champagne, Louis Jadot Burgundies and Tenuta San Guido…just to name a few) Italian portfolio tasting in the city to quickly check out the new vintages hitting the market this Fall.

What always frustrates me at tastings like this is that wine buyers from stores and restaurants are all fighting for the time & attention of the winemakers pouring.

Typically Jeremy (My head buyer) and I will fly through an event like this and “power taste” our way through. This tasting was no different. They had their anchor producer (Tenuta San Guido a.k.a. Sassicaia) all the way at the end of the room and it had a gaggle of people all reaching their hands in to get a little wine in their glass.

As we were running late Jeremy and I went and made some quick small talk with Piero Incisa and asked to taste the 2009 Guidalberto (We already knew what the 2008 Sassicaia tasted like so their was no reason to blow smoke up his skirt on that one) We swirled it….smelled it….spit it…and then bolted for the door.

As the wine had a chance to settle on our palates as we exited the building we both looked at eachother and said….DAMN THAT WAS GOOD.

Antonio Galloni of The Wine Advocate has already gone on record as saying this is one of the best Guidalbertos ever:”The 2009 Guidalberto flows across the palate with layers of radiant red fruit. This is another striking, supple Guidalberto loaded with personality. Stylistically it is quite close to the 2007, but with perhaps a touch less body but equally silky, polished tannins. Freshly cut roses, spices and a burst of pure red berries add nuance on the finish…This is easily one of the best vintages I can recall tasting…92+” WA 8/31/11

….And at $43/Bottle you are getting a feel for the Tenuta San Guido greatness for a FRACTION of the price of Sassicaia. You can be sure that a six pack of this is making it’s way to my house this weekend!!

Check it out…Great stuff for the price

I HIGHLY recommend it.

All my best,
Andrew

Sassicaia 2008

Sassacaia "King" of Italy

Big, Bigger & Smallest From One Of The “Kings” Of Italy!!

Good morning,

A few weeks ago we did our initial re-sell offer on one of the “Kings” of Tuscany…2008 Sassicaia…and we received an OVERWHELMING response to the deal!!

But, no futures offer on SASSICAIA would not be complete without giving people the chance to own this Italian cellar treasure in the “Odd-size” formats.

2008 Sassicaia

“Sassicaia opens with an intense ruby red color with incredible concentration and depth. It has a complex and very elegant aroma crowned by hints of red fruit. The flavor is powerful, concentrated, and has a luxurious density, with soft and well-balanced tannins. On the palate it is rich and dense, and at the same time harmonious and elegant. This wine is decidedly long and lingering, with a significant organoleptic density and a polyphenolic profile which, together, ensure this wine’s extraordinary longevity.” Winemakers Tasting Note (Sebastiano Rosa)

 

Who wouldn’t want one of the “Bigs” for a party or future celebration? Even better a “missile” (375ML) to see how truly magnificent this red is and how it evolves over time without having to break into your stash of 750mls!

The “Odd-Size” formats are VERY LIMITED and typically are 100% pre-committed before the wines even arrive to us in late July.

Our advice to you is to scan the list and quickly go to www.zachys.com , give us a call or e-mail us at cs@zachys.com if you want to add these special formats to your Italian collection.

We look forward to hearing from you.

All my best

Andrew

Wine	Item #	Release Price	Pre-Arrival Price
Sassicaia Tenuta San Guido 2008 (375ML)	346505	$105.00	$86.00
Sassicaia Tenuta San Guido 2008 (1.5L)	346506	$450.00	$370.00
Sassicaia Tenuta San Guido 2008 (3L)	346508	$850.00	$715.00

A Wine That Has Grown Into Its Own

It’s hard for me to believe that 7 years has passed since I first tasted the newest wine to be released from the Tenuta San Guido Estate (Makers of SASSICAIA) – Le Difese. Sassicaia has been a perennial powerhouse and a standard to which many other Tuscan estates strive to achieve. So when first learning of this “new wine” I was a bit cynic, but could not have been more wrong as this blend of 70% Cabernet/30% Sangiovese has been delighting Zachys clients for the last 5 years.

Oprah's Last SHow

Last night I was dragged in front of the TV to take part in the watching of “OPRAH’S Final Show”….I gotta admit, it was PRETTY IMPRESSIVE!! Before I was allowed to sit down and the show could start I was sent to get us each a glass of wine. On the top shelf of the wine fridge was the newest release of the Le Difese (2009)….to which I blurted out, “This should be a perfect glass to toast Oprah’s farewell dear!”

Honestly, I could not have been more correct. Served at cellar temperature this wine was SINGING last night with my wife Jen stating it was exceptionally “smooth & easy and I would easily give this a 8.5/9 out of 10”. I would have to agree with her here.

The first few vintages of this wine it seemed like a bit of an “extra” wine for the estate and a way for them to utilize young-vine Sangiovese & Cabernet. Clearly these vines have the proper age now as the 2009 shows a tremendous sweet intensity to the mid-palate all the while having deliciously round and supple tannins which give the wine a seamless finish.

Grabing the bottle Le Difese from the wine cooler

The “glass of wine” quickly turned into a finished bottle as the 2009 Le Difese is simply DEE-LISH. (And “No” it was not influenced by the emotion of the show!)

I can tell you that one of the first things I am going to do today is tell Brian Mullaney to arrange to have a case of this shipped to my house for this Summer as it is JUST THAT GOOD….And I suggest you do the same.

This vintage is different than others in the fact that our allocation is HALF of what it has been in previous vintages, so I fear this wine will be gone by the Fall. More reason for you to bypass buying it by the bottle and jump all over my six pack special below. (To take advantage of this special and unique pricing e-mail into our Customer Service department at cs@zachys.com)

I gotta admit, this wine was a GREAT finish to my day yesterday and I would have to agree with winemaker Sebastiano Rosa that this is his best Le Difese to date.

Grab it while it lasts!!

All my best,

Andrew

Le Difese Tenuta San Guido 2009 {#345727}             Release Price           $34.99/Bottle   Current Sale Price      $29.99/Bottle

Le Difese is a blend of 70% cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Sangiovese…aged for 12 months in French and American oak barriques and refined for 3 months in bottle before release to the market. As with the Guidalberto, Sebastiano Rosa has made great strides with this wine and the 2009 is one of the best ever for this wine.

Sebastiano’s aim here is to produce a wine of accessibility and youthful pleasure, in contrast to the more structured and long-lived style of Sassicaia. Also of course, more affordable!

“Grown Into Its Own Six Pack Special”                 $150/Six Pack (That’s only $25/Bottle!!)