Wine: 2008 Sette Ponti Oreno
Region: Tuscany
Sokolin Price: $24.99/btl
Rating: 93 JS
Summer is right around the corner, and so is our new summer catalog that is filled with gems cover to cover. If you'd like to receive a copy, you can sign up right on the home page of our website under catalog/email sign-up at www.sokolin.com.
In Dave Sokolin's message on the inside cover, he makes mention of our unofficial motto here at Sokolin - 'we sell the world's most expensive wines, and the least expensive wines that taste like them.' He goes on to say, 'When you frequently taste the world's best wines, you can isolate those similar qualities in wines that cost a fraction. That's exactly what we do for our clients on a daily basis.' Uncovering these wines and bringing them to our clients is definitely an exciting aspect of this business. Thinking about Dave's comment, a select handful of wines come to mind, and one we tried just last evening - the 2008 Sette Ponti Crognolo from the Tuscany region of Italy. Sette Ponti also produces Oreno, its higher scoring wine, which costs more than double the price of the Crognolo.
Tuscany has produced a string of great vintages since 2004, and of course, the 2008 vintage was no exception. The 2008 Crognolo is super elegant, sexy and bursting with notes of cherries and fragrant flowers. It is an absolutely lovely and graceful wine, as it lightly dances on your palate, yet it delivers some grip and a seriously long finish that takes you by surprise. This wine has always been a staff favorite here, and its $24.99 price tag makes it a great summer house wine for a variety of occasions. Predominantly made of Sangiovese and a splash of Merlot, this wine is soft, and is not too punchy or too forward.
We served the Crognolo with one of Thomas Keller's recipes - an iceberg wedge salad with crispy bacon, roasted tomatoes, diced chives, homemade croutons, and a homemade buttermilk dressing consisting of crème fraiche, mayonnaise and buttermilk. While it was somewhat labor intensive to create, it was worth it! And after tasting the first bite, we realized - again - why Thomas Keller is such a successful and well-known chef. The ingredients combine together to create one delicious piece. The dressing did not overpower the wine in any way like a vinegar based dressing often does. It had just the right amount of flavor to avoid overshadowing any portion of the meal. We followed up the wedge salad with a very flavorful grey sole recipe, compliments of Cooks Illustrated. The sole was slathered with Dijon mustard, then sprinkled with an herb mixture consisting of snipped chives, garlic, butter and olive oil. The Dijon mustard was the key ingredient here. It really set it over the top.
Our Recommendation: Take advantage of the weekends approaching, and bring out your cookbooks or look for some interesting recipes online and cook up something amazing. But don't be left empty-handed without some wine to go along with your creations. If you are looking to replenish your wine collection with an affordable, everyday drinking wine that tastes like a more expensive wine, the 2008 Sette Ponti Crognolo is a perfect choice.
Our Table Score - 93+ points.