2003 Nemo

The 2003 Nemo (Cabernet Sauvignon) is a plump, engaging wine loaded with ripe dark fruit. It shows awesome richness and an elegant, refined personality, even if what comes through is more vineyard character than varietal expression. With air and food this wine could be enjoyed today, although it is best left alone in the cellar for at least a few years. The use of oak is much more harmonious than Il Poggio in this vintage. This is a stunning wine, not to mention one of the top wines from Tuscany in 2003. If it sounds like I was blown away by this wine, I was. Though not inexpensive in absolute terms I would be hard pressed to name another Tuscan wine that delivers this level of quality and pure drinking pleasure for the money. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2028. My recent visit to Castello di Monsanto was memorable. In addition to the current releases, I had a chance to taste a few older vintages of the estate’s benchmark Chianti Classico Riserva Il Poggio. Monsanto is one of the small handful of estates to have kept a vast library of its past vintages, a few of which it re-releases every year to select customers. Needless to say, in today’s world of highly suspect collectible wines, the chance to buy impeccably stored older vintages of unquestioned provenance is a huge service to consumers. Kudos to proprietor Laura Bianchi and oenologist Andrea Giovannini. These are simply beautiful wines. Although Monsanto’s Chiantis are impressive, readers should not overlook the Nemo (Cabernet Sauvignon) which is stunning in both 2003 and 2004. Here the use of French oak seems to be much better suited to the grape, and the wines are breathtaking. Nemo is made from the Il Mulino vineyard, which was planted in 1976. Importer: Moet Hennessy USA, New York, NY; tel. (212) 251-8200