Insider's Club Wine Reviews
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1998 & 1999 Super Tuscans
1999: Great cellar prospects
The 1999 vintage has been somewhat overlooked in the aftermath of 1997 and that may be a good thing for the savvy consumer. Prices seem to have held since 1997 and in some instances the decreased demand may even make for some more attractive pricing at the retail level. The wines from 1999 show great purity with classic acidity that manifests itself in unusually brilliant colors. The alcohol levels are also well—balanced, making for elegant, concentrated, age-worthy, and sophisticated reds that have the generally reserved and suspect Italian media doing back-flips. The vintage was equally successful for Sangiovese and the French Varietal so common in Super Tuscan blends. When the wines of 1999 are compared side-by-side with the full, early maturing colors of the low acid, high alcohol 1997's, The radical difference in the long-term prospects of the two vintages is easy to discern. To be sure, the wines of 1999 were more difficult to taste from barrel as great wines often are but that is not the points. Great wines are sold in bottle several years after the vintage and often enjoyed after several more years of cellaring. This is where the real world and the wine media can often diverge.
1998: Choose carefully
As for 1998, this was a less-than-stellar vintage in Tuscany that produced earlier drinking wines clearly lacking the intensity and structure of a great vintage. When choosing among the 1998's that remain on the shelves it is important to choose carefully. In Italy, the 1998 Tuscan vintage is seen as a bit of a flop and with 1999 coming out, it is generally being passed over. Nonetheless, as always in a large and diverse region, some very good wines were made. The tiny Tuscan sub-zone of Bolgheri (Sassicais, Ornellaia, etc...) probably fared best, but again, even here the wines should pale in comparison to 1999. If the price is right, however, there is nothing wrong with picking up a few of the better ’98s for near-to mid-term drinking while waiting for the 1999s to develop in the cellar.
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