A terrific Italian red blend on sale for $9

October 16, 7:01 PMDC Budget Wine ExaminerRob Garretson

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One of our favorite value reds is an Italian blend that is consistently good and just as consistently on sale for $8 or less. But Falesco Vitiano isn’t what Italian wine lovers would consider a typical Tuscan wine. Another perennial favorite – not quite as inexpensive, but more Italian in character – is the 2006 Monte Antico on sale for $8.99 a bottle as one of Calvert Woodley’s Wines of the Week.

Like the Vitiano, Monte Antico is a blend of sangiovese, merlot and cabernet sauvignon. But while Vitiano is a more balanced blend – often equal parts of each grape – Monte Antico is 75 percent sangiovese, with just 15 percent merlot and 10 percent cabernet. Sangiovese is most well known as the dominant grape in the famous wines from Chianti in Tuscany, as well as other highly regarded Italian wines, such as Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Morellino di Scansano.

“The quality of the 2006 vintage in Tuscany shined through on this wine,” wrote James Suckling of the Wine Spectator on his blog, scoring it 90 points. In a tasting wines from $10 to $25 back in March, he found some excellent wines, the most impressive of which for the money was the Monte Antico 2006.
“This is a superb Sangiovese year. The aromatic quality of Sangiovese is mind-blowing for most wines from Tuscany,” he wrote. “The 2006 Monte Antico has beautiful plums, berries and fresh acidity. Fantastico! And for $11!”

Monte Antico, regularly $11.99 at Calvert Woodley and $10.49 at Total Wine, “offers up red cherries, game, oak and spices in a floral, mid-weight style,” wrote the Wine Advocate’s Antonio Galloni in August, though he scored it only 86 points. “The wine shows good balance although some hard edges remain.”

“Excellent bottle of red from Tuscany,” noted a member of the Snooth.com social network, under the name hansim. “The 2006 vintage is stellar. Soft, medium bodied, not harsh at all, minimal acidic bite. Berry finish. Good aroma. Excellent with our pasta dinner.”

Cork’d.com member S Lewis described the nose (what it smells like) as “Earthy, mushrooms and caramel [with] some bright cherry fruit mixed in with oak.” Of the taste he said, “Nice earthy favours with good oak. Restrained cherries with chocolate and coffee tastes. Some hollowness in the mid-palate. The finish was longer than expected.”

Anthony Quinn, of Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits, writing on his Chat Wine blog, noted back in April that the wine may need a bit of time after opening to come to life. “The 2006 Monte Antico had just arrived from Italy and it was immediately showing a bit rough and rustic and robust,” he wrote. “It was tasty but not very defined in the first few tastes but it quickly came together and fleshed-out and showed a more bright berry/cheery appeal. I liked sipping it.”