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Villa Antinori Toscana 2014

I think that I tried Villa Antinori Toscana previously, but did not remember very much about it.  I have seen advertising about it in wine magazines and was aware of good reviews by respected critics but still did not buy it.  Maybe, the price was not a compelling buy.  However, my Costco warehouse reduced the price down to $12.99 and that was enough for me to buy two bottles.

Villa Antinori Toscana is considered a "Super Tuscan" wine because it is primarily Sangiovese with small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah.  A Super Tuscan wine is distinguished from Chianti wine which must be all Sangiovese.

The first bottle was quite a disappointment.  There was some dark berry and plum flavor but it was very acidic and not nearly as good as some other Tuscan wines I have been enjoying.  I am glad that I bought 2 bottles, because the second bottle was significantly better with some cherry cola flavor that I did not detect in the first bottle.  However, the wine still did not live up to the 90-92 point wines that I read about.  I did some research and found that 2014 was a very bad growing season for wines in Tuscany.  The vintage was rated at only 83-85 points as opposed the 91-93 point vintages usually expected.  I am blaming my experience with this wine on the vintage and will be on the lookout for the 2015 vintage to give the wine another try.

SC Wine Joe rating = 87 points



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