1999 Masi Modello Rosso delle Venezie

[hotwine]

An unusual bargain red, consisting of Corvina and Raboso Veronese. A conventional nose of fruit with an alcohol underlayment, but the tongue tip says cranberries and maple syrup (?), stewed plums, and strawberry Jell-O. Served with a mixed bag of frozen Italian dinners. She annointed it "our new house wine", so I'm instructed to lay in a case. Go figure. A whopping $6.99 per bottle and 12% ABV.

I don't think it's worth a "case buy". Will lay in a few bottles to keep her happy, but it's 'way too jammy for anything other than an occasional quaffer.

[This message has been edited by hotwine (edited 01-10-2003).]

[stevebody]

To expand a little, Modello is partially made up of second barrels of the wines used to make Masi's Campofiorin Ripasso and may contain wine that was fermented and barrelled as many as five vintages ago(!) Spoke to the Masi rep at a tasting here in Seattle about six months ago. They were selling off some of those seconds to plonk houses in the past but finally decided to blend something that would be a cash cow. I agree - Jammy as a MoFo. (I like jammy, though.) A very interesting little jug 'o juice for the bux; definitely more fun than another generic minor-appellation Chianti or yet another Montepulciano.