Colmera

[misterjive]

If the wine is from the Marches, it is not from Tuscany, but is rather a Super-Marchean! This does not surprise me--as a useful wine term, "Super-Tuscan" is beginning to show its age. Why, the term itself is almost passe. Consider: the "New-School" approach in Italian wine-making that resulted in the first Super-Tuscans (Tignanello, Sassicaia, Sassolloro) is now popular all over Italy, with Barrique-aged (sometimes even in American oak), Bordeaux-style blends being produced in great quantity in places such as the Veneto ("Super-Venetians"?), Umbria ("Super-Umbrians"?)and even Apulia. Better to do as Robert Parker Jr. does, and simply stick with VDT. The Super-Tuscans were the first to do it, but now everybody's doing it.

As for the link between Vino di Tavola "Super-Tuscans" and Chianti, let us remember that Chianti producers have been sneaking Cabernet into their Classico vats for decades. Let us also factor in the American market's predilection for heavy oak and light acid (read: less Sangiovese and more Cabernet), and we realize that many Chiantis are made in a Super-Tuscan style. There is a reason Italian DOCG law allows Chianti to be up to 10% Cabernet: the Chianti producers were putting in more and still calling it Chianti Classico Riserva. I've said in this forum before that Ruffino "Gold-Label" Chianti Classico is made to emulate the Super-Tuscan style. Same thing with Banfi Centine, which actually received DOCG status at the prompting of Banfi's former top winemaker and current head of Italian wine law's governing body. It got the "age-old" badge as a traditional Italian wine despite being a modern-day blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet, and Merlot. In the same vein, many great Super-Tuscans drink like great Chianti, with the Sangiovese dominating the blend. Just as Chianti is predominantly Sangio, with only whiffs of Canaiolo and the white varieties, Trebbiano and Malvasia, many Super-Everythings are based on Sangiovese, with only hints of Cab and Merlot. The line between Chianti and Vino di Tavola can be thin indeed.

As for price, who says the Old Worlde can't wallop Cali's ass? I am buying more French and Italian these days because Californians are too damned greedy. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? The true wine values are old world, new production, of which the 1997 Mondavi Colmera profiled here is a case in point. An interesting Languedoc-Roussillon blend ($7 at the local wine shop) generally drinks better than a Cabernet from a mediocre California producer (a bottle of wine, say, that is $20 at any supermarket, drugstore, or gas station).
Or the so-called Super-Tuscan, which is perhaps from the Marches or Umbria, drinks both better and cheaper than the high-priced Napa Valley Meritage that is produced by someone just learning how to make wine.