Monte Antico Toscano (IGT) 2004: Price: $9.99
Grade: A-
In 1992 Tuscany faced a wine conundrum. Like other European countries, Italy has always been serious about the quality of its winemaking. After all, the country's first vineyards have been dated to about 800 B.C. To protect its commitment to regional quality and tradition, Italy enacted laws prescribing which grapes and winemaking techniques could be used in each region. Tuscan wine tradition dictated the use of the region's star red grape, Sangiovese, along with a white grape called Vernaccia.
The problem with these strict laws was that they prevented regions from experimenting with new grapes and vinification techniques. Because of the ascension of the United States as the world's largest wine market, coupled with the success of French varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Italian winemakers sought to incorporate new grapes and winemaking techniques into their vineyards. To accommodate new trends, Italy created a new wine designation in 1992 called Indicazione Geografica Tipica?, which allowed wine made from unconventional styles and grapes to be associated with certain regions. The IGT title is similar to the "Vin de Pays" label in France, which also signifies that a particular wine was made through means other than the region's traditional grapes and methods.
In Tuscany, the new designation allowed the creation of a popular wine style called "Super-Tuscan," which is a mixture between Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese. Super-Tuscans are among the best-selling Italian wines. Americans usually respond to the smoother, more familiar taste provided by the mixture of French and Italian grapes.
Monte Antico Toscano 2004 (IGT) has received impressive acclaim from famous wine critics. The wine is pure Sangiovese, the grape used to create Tuscany's most famous wine, Chianti. The hype is correct. Monte Antico is a very impressive value wine. It has a sizable array of aromas that include strawberry, raspberry, nutmeg, blackberry, plum, raisin, floral notes and black cherry. The palate is a little less complex: sour cherry, yeast, blackberry, cinnamon, raisin and traces of red fruit such as strawberry. Still, the palate is more than one would expect from an inexpensive Italian wine.
The most difficult type of inexpensive wine to shop for in the United States is Italian wine. When you come across one for $9.99 with this much complexity, you should savor it. Monte Antico should be your inexpensive choice for dinner parties, especially if the dish happens to be Italian.
Jeff's column runs biweekly Wednesdays. He can be reached at jkatra@cavalierdaily.com.
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