Friday, March 6, 2009

2006 Di Majo Norante Sangiovese Terre degli Osci IGT

Type: Red
Producer: Di Majo Norante
Variety: Sangiovese
Country: Italy
Region: Molise
Appellation: Terre degli Osci IGT
Price: $9.99



The Little Wooden Guy is disappointed, and that's not really fair to the wine. At $9.99, it delivers a decent bang for the buck. No, he is disappointed because it failed to meet its promise, and herein lies one of the real problems with rating wines. The shelf-hanger said:

Wine Advocate - December 2007 - 89 points - Great Values from Italy

"The 2006 Sangiovese Terre Degli Osci is simply gorgeous. This superbly balanced red offers generous, super-ripe blueberry, spice and sweet toasted oak along with a soft, accessible personality."*


Hey, $9.99 for that? What a bargain! And then, disappointment. On the one hand, it suckered me into buying it. On the other hand, I was disappointed where I should have been thrilled- for $9.99 this wine really delivered. So I guess the question is, do they want a large number of individual sales, or a smaller number of multiple sales and loyal customers?

Night One

The nose opens with big aromas, starting with rubber and dark ripe fruit, blackcurrant and plum, followed by spices, primarily pepper and cardamom.

The palate, too, opens with rubber, followed by black pepper, blackberries, plums, and lots of florals, including violets and roses. Vanilla comes out on the finish. Mouth-feel is very smooth.

Night Two

The nose is much lighter on Night Two, more fruity, opening with cherries and raspberries, plus the cherry pits.

The palate is far simpler on Night Two, as well. Cherries and raspberries, some spice including white pepper, not any significant changes on the mid-palate, and a hint of nutmeg added on the finish.

*I am not a big fan of wine ratings and rarely buy anything based upon shelf-hangers, but as the manager of The 89 Project, if see and "89" under $10, I really have to buy it.

1 comment:

Joe Plonk said...

I too was a little disappointed in this wine, which perhaps is what you get when you buy a wine based on the cool picture on the label. Perhaps the good news for me is that I only paid $7.