.JPG)
Chatom Calaveras County Gitano 2008 Sangiovese,$16.20-$18.00, 91 points, begins in the glass as a near pomegranate red with flashes of copper and pink with a clear rim.
Nearly mute, the aroma has a hint of celery and earth, but bourbon and caramel boasts its 14.9% alcohol, and reminds me of some Italian Sangiovese wines without any floral notes, or little in the way of fruit.
Medium bodied, with good acidity and moderate tannin, Chatom seems more whisky-like than any fruit-forward wine I've tasted from California, but a hint of rum-like plum was noticeable.
The finish is "hot" and with some chipotle Cholula spice, goes on and on!
I'm guessing that this will be California's Sangiovese benchmark wine; being only my second American Sangiovese tasted.
I bought this wine at the Londonderry Hannaford's super market, and it is disappearing, so I must me a Johnny-come-lately, but as often is the case, when they are gone, they are gone!
Index-of-reviewed-wines
Copyright 2010-2013 Dennis Tsiorbas. All rights reserved, Template provided by Blogger
Dennis, this looks like an interesting find. I see that they only produce 390 cases of this wine. It's always interesting to see where these small production wines end up.
ReplyDeleteNick, one observation I've made concerning less than popular wines i.e., Cabernet Sauvignon being well known, is that they tend not to sell very quickly, but these Sangiovese wines disappeared within days; this surprised me: not only a less known varietal, but not a typical tasting wine at that. Thanks for the info (390 cases), because I didn't research the wine's back-ground. I have a bottle of the 2006 vintage, and I'm curious to see how well the wine ages from one vintage to another.
Delete