Crognolo Tenuta Sette Ponti 2006

Sangiovese is a grape native to Italy. The common scents and flavors are tar, tobacco and leather. And this is something one is supposed to drink? Well, it just so happens that sangiovese is one of the most expensive grape varietals on the planet. It is the grape responsible for vino nobile di montepulciano, chianti and brunello di montalcino (one of the most well known and expensive red wines on the planet). This particular wine takes that grape and blends it with merlot. MERLOT? Merlot is the grape that everyone makes fun of, you might note. Merlot is also one of the best blending grapes in the world because of its high alcohol, fruit forward flavors. Merlot is blended in many of the best Bordeauxs, along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and sometimes Petit Verdot or Malbec.
So, this wine takes those two grapes and puts them together and, in this case, the whole may be greater than the sum of its parts. It is generally referred to as a super tuscan (and this one certainly fits the bill)! It's called a super tuscan because it does not follow normal appellation guidelines (in Italy, you may be able to get away with this but good luck trying this stunt in France with a bottle of Burgundy!).
This wine retails for around $35.00 and is perfect with a pasta dish with a red wine sauce (spicy or otherwise). The merlot certainly holds its own against the sangiovese flavors giving you a complex wine that is balanced. Sometimes high alcohol wines like merlot can be out of balance (and you can usually taste the out of balance-ness when you swallow it as it goes down hard and harsh), but in this case the finish is very smooth. You can taste the sangiovese tobaccos and the fruit forward berries of merlot. This wine is also a good way to delve into the sangiovese grape, if you have never tried it before. I recommend this wine but I'd save it for a few years.