Good Dei: 2 wines / 4 vintages
23 Jun 2023- Details
- Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
(February 2023) ... Montepulcino - I have been to Dei before... I have tasted wines here before ... I have had a meal here before.
But this was a different visit, it was about comparing two Cru (single vineyards) the winery has. One, is the older vineyard used to make the Riserva – Bossona ... The other is an ode to the father, a small vineyard called “Madonna della Querce”, planted in 2005, the first vintage of which was released from the 2015 vintage. A handful of media from around the world was there to taste these two reserve wines side by side from four different vintages: 2015 - 2016 - 2017 - 2018.
2018 ...
Madonna Della Querce vs Bossona
Madonna - Nice structure with lovely acidity and spice notes; well balance dark fruit with cedar... It has lovely complexity and a good life ahead of it.
Bossona – Drink-ability is certainly in the now camp. Lots of red berries, good balancing acidity and moderate spice. Enjoy now.
Winner : A draw. While Bossona is drink now, Madonna will be waiting in the wings when you are finished all the Bossona; and good thing too, as Madonna needs more time.
2017 ...
Madonna Della Querce vs Bossona
Madonna - Rough and rugged tannins from the outset ... There is fruit, it's there, but it's not ready to drink quite yet; it's also developing notes of leather, tar and cedar.
Bossona - An approachable wine that's very delicate, and doesn't disguise the fruit it has under a veil of wood.
Winner : Easily the Bossona; with its approachability and ease of drinking, it's a quaffer right now; I'm not sure whether the Madonna gets out from behind that tarry-woody-leathery veil.
2016 ...
Madonna Della Querce vs Bossona
Madonna - Happily, there is some fruit to be found here; but the extract is hard and there's some crazy age-ability here as long as that wood manages to settle itself down and the fruit can find a way to fight its way to the front.
Bossona - Approachable and fruity: lots of red berry: cherry, strawberry, and red currant really showing its way through. This wine is fresh, fruity and fun.
Winner : This should be obvious from the write-up above, but if the Madonna can write the ship over the next few years ... time will tell.
2015 ...
Madonna Della Querce vs Bossona
Madonna - Already 7 years old and the wine maintains rugged / tough tannins and dark brooding fruit... I'm not sure it ever will turn a corner.
Bossona - Tannins and acidity are battling it out, while the fruit waits in the wings to see who's the ultimate winner in their fight for supremacy. There is a certain approachability here, but the tannins need to drop like a set of balls.
Winner : tough call, but this round might go to the Bossona, just for having some drink-now-ability - otherwise, it's a draw of. Let's see what happens.
Today, we're tasting the Ghiaie della Furba wine that has been a calling card of the winery, since it's inception in 1979. It was designed as a Bordeaux blend made of equal parts Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. With more Cabernet Sauvignon being planted, the blend changed in 1992, when Sauvignon took the lion's share, at 60% with Merlot being 30% and Cabernet Franc reduced to a mere 10%. In 1998, the blend changed once again, this time it was due to the change of winemaker, which usually means a change of vision of what a wine should be. Benedetta Contini Bonacossi, took over the wine making in 1988; but it wasn't till 10 years later that Furba was transformed from a straight Bordeaux blend to a red blend that saw Syrah taking the place of the Cabernet Franc.
2006 Ghiaie della Furba
