2004 Greppicaia

Greppi

My wife received a "sale notification" from one of our local wine merchants ( we are on many of their email lists ) for a 2004 Super Tuscan with a 94 rating from Wine Spectator.  We normally keep ourselves on a wine budget because it can easily get out of hand and simply "ooh" and "ahh" at these types of emails.  But, this time, due to our recent infatuation with Italy (we are building a cottage at Montaluce Winery & Estates north of Atlanta) this offer grabbed our attention.  The deal was pretty good and we bought a 6-pack which we picked up just yesterday.  We hadn't tasted this wine before, so it's a bit risky for us to spend $250+ (after the discount) on 6 bottles of wine we haven't tried.  But, sometimes the reward is well worth the risk, and this was one of those occasions.

The first thing I noticed was a velvety and light oaky nose, which told me right away I was dealing with the old country and like I just walked into the winery itself.  Blackberry and spice jumped out at me upon the first taste, but was not overbearing like a California Cab might be, and the smooth tannins lasted from front to back.  The mouthfeel was satisfying and complete.  The 2004 I Greppi Greppicaia is a seemingly perfect blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, though I do not know the ratio of each.  Please, give it a shot.  You won't be disappointed.

I recommend decanting the wine for about 30 minutes, however, it was lovely right out of the bottle as well.