Back-to-back Sangio blends, this one an IGT Toscano with Merlot, yesterday’s a DOP with Montepulciano. I love Sangio/Merlot blends, I think the fullness of the merlot grants weight early-on to some of Sangiovese’s austerity. But this one stays severly austere. Big, rich and ripe in the nose, gobs of heavy berry and concentration of spice and briar.

Tasting it produces an elevated angsty structural comonent rather harsh and boding well for continued aging. It manages a full, round fruitiness, but delivers it with ratchety slivers of acid and tannin plentiful air only begins to disperse. The bitterness of all that stuffing is glorious, but not for the feeble of palate. I mean… this thing is a complete and utter MOUTHFUL of grainy grit and stamina borderlining on *unbalanced*. Four years old and not settling down one bit, I really want to taste this in a decade. Incredible chocolate/tobacco nuances are laid down under beautiful thick fruit in compelling ways but with asterisks. An interesting wine, for sure, offering juxtapositions of richness and granular shrillness, sweetness and harshenss quite defining in texture.

2019 INSERATA ‘Insieme’ Rosso Toscano IGT Sangio/Merlot Italy 14.5

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