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Tasting Notes
Medium plus bodied with plus acidity and pronounced tannin, this Tone and Backbone wine unfolds with blackberry, red cherry, hints of mint, flowers, crushed rocks, and spice, adding to its depth of personality.
Body is the impression of a wines weight, density, or its ‘mouth-feel’. Some wines feel weighty, or full bodied, while others feel light bodied. Wine runs the gamut from light to full, with most falling somewhere in between.
TANNIN
Low
Subtle
Balanced
Pronounced
High
Tannin can range greatly in wine, but it is necessary to some degree, and a necessary constituent for red wines to age well. In high amounts, it can cause a drying affect, which is sensed mostly on the gums and tongue. Tannin is a natural preservative extracted from grape skins, otherwise known as polyphenols that are micronutrients and antioxidants with potential health benefits.
ACIDITY
Soft
Subtle
Balanced
Pronounced
High
Acidity is a foundational component in wine. In fact, low acidity, or ‘flabby’ wine (as the term suggests) is a negative. You can sense acidity mainly on the sides of your tongue. Acidity generally ranges from balanced to high. Crisp acidity adds freshness, making your mouth water. Acidity is a necessary element and helps to balance other components.
SWEETNESS
Dry
Off Dry
Medium Dry
Medium Sweet
Very Sweet
Most wines are characterized as dry to off-dry, but there are some grape varietals, like Riesling, that run the gamut from dry to sweet. The tip of the tongue mainly detects sweetness, which is why it is often the primary characteristic detected. Sweetness is derived from residual sugar that did not ferment into alcohol.
ALCOHOL
13.5%
Alcohol is the by-product of fermentation. Differing grape varieties have differing potential alcohol levels, but regardless warmer areas result in riper grapes resulting in higher alcohol. Alcohol level is an objective number, but its affect on its palate impression is largely determined with how well integrated and balanced it is with other components.
A Super Tuscan value: terroir true to the high altitude vineyards.
GRAPE VARIETAL(S)
Sangiovese
San-Joe-VAY-say
Sangiovese is grown throughout Central Italy, but is most famous for Brunello Di Montalcino and Chianti Classico in Tuscany. While historically the quality of Sangiovese wines was variable, the best wines are influenced by terroir and low yields. At its best, it makes some of some of Italy’s best wines. It performs particularly well on limestone soils at higher altitudes yielding elegant age-worthy Tone & Backbone wines with a complex combination of red fruit, earth, and minerals.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Ca-ber-NAY So-vee-NYON
Cabernet Sauvignon origins are from the Gironde in southwest France, but is now planted across the world in climates that accommodate this late ripening grape. It is the dominant grape in wines made in Bordeaux’s Médoc and Graves regions. This small, thick-skinned grape, produces darkly colored wine, high in tannin and relatively high in acidity with hallmark aromas of blackcurrant and can stylistically change from austere in its youth to lush depending on the region, and winemaking style.
Merlot
Mer-LO
It would be easier to detail where Merlot is not grown than vice-versa, as it is one of the most widely planted grapes in the world. Depending on the terroir, the style can vary quite a bit. Generally, Merlot is fleshy and more fruit driven and with less aggressive tannins than its oft more austere blending partner, Cabernet Sauvignon, which also makes it more accessible in its youth. The quality and character can vary from crowd pleasing sweet plummy fruit to extraordinary complex velvety texture of a great right bank Bordeaux.
Alicante
Ah-Lee-KAN-Tay
Alicante, also known as Garnacha Tintorera, is a unique red grape variety notable for its deeply colored flesh and juice, resulting in intensely dark and robust wines. Popular in Spain and Portugal, it is prized for its rich berry flavors, firm tannins, and full-bodied character, often used to add depth and color to blends.
After spending time in Bordeaux and becoming enamored with its wines, Giampaolo Motta left his family’s leather business in Naples and moved to Chianti to learn to make wine. In 1991 he acquired a 27-hectares estate in the Conco d’Oro (or Golden Basin) of Panzano and founded La Massa.
This 27-hectare estate is 360 meters above sea level on a mix of clay, marl, and limestone soils. The high elevation helps elongate the growing season and add structure to the wines. The vineyards are sustainably farmed without any use of any herbicides and only natural yeasts are used in the winery.
The flagship wine, Giorgio Primo, is a powerful yet minerally and nuanced Bordeaux-style blend with distinctive Tuscan character and pedigree.
Blackberry
Mint
Mineral
