Santa Lucia Monte Antico 2013 IGT Toscano 750ml

91 Points – James Suckling (Oct 2016): “This is one of the best value Italian reds on the market. Medium to full body with dried cherry, milk chocolate and light chili aromas and flavors. Long and delicious. Caressing mouthfeel. Bright acidity.”

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Immediately captivating summers day in Tuscany aromas; baked clay, and hot terracotta tiles, earthy-herbal melange – infusion of dried thyme, lavender fields, wild rosemary – deep black berry fruits, dark cherry, blood plum, juniper berry with hints of liquorice, dark chocolate/cocoa, spicy black pepper and star anise; there’s an underlying smoky, complex meatiness with nuances of antique woods and leather. A juicy palate entry with a rush of crunchy cherry and plum fruit engulfing the mouth with succulence and suppleness that has you immediately reaching for the bottle to pour a second glass, elegant, easy drinking yet with sufficiently firm backbone that reminds you this is sangiovese with its chewy tannins and cut of acidity, moreover a penetrating tanginess with tamarillo and sour red currant keeping the fruit dancing on the palate (one of those characteristics of sweet/sour oscillation that new world producers simply cannot immolate) and intensely spicy and warming with invigorating natural acidity that has the palate salivating for more. Over all, this wine shows more juiciness and flesh than you normally see at this price point, brilliantly balanced and classy and would run rings around a lot of Chianti.