We had an interesting wine with our Monday dinner this week. It was a 2000 Vita Nova Santa Inez Valley Sangiovese (Stolpman Vineyard). It was bottled by Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat winery. I don’t know any more about the history of this wine. We picked up a couple of bottles from the East Beach Wine Company when we were in Santa Barbara a few weeks ago. According to the owner he is the only retailer of this wine and gets it directly from Jim. I was pretty skeptical of a 10 year old California Sangiovese but was assured it was still good.
It turned out to be a pretty nice wine. Big fruity, earthy nose, maybe a little prune and mushroom. There was a light mouthfeel with a very good balance and acid and tannin. The flavor was much like the nose with a lot of fruit left considering the age of this wine. Nancy also got a burst of cedar and spice along with the fruit. All three of us enjoyed this wine and at only 13.5% alcohol it has held up well. Our meal was chicken piccata with Israeli couscous and a home grown tomato salad and while the wine didn’t enhance the chicken it certainly held up to it nicely. We have one more bottle and are looking forward to enjoying it soon.
