Movia Veliko Rosso 2001

Slovenia? Yea thats right. It's not that far from Italy (so maybe I am not so far from Italian?), and this winery straddles the border. Ales Kristancic has made quite a name for himself, and his often hard to find Movia wines have been highly recommended...

EXPERIENCE
It's obvious from the cork (inappropriate description omitted) that this is one for the decanter. We decanted 3/4 of the bottle for around a hour and ever so slowly drank two glasses straight from the bottle while we waited. The nose is earthy, with cinnamon and tobacco (cohibas not camels). First taste is very dry, though it begins to smooth out. With time, the wine become less dry and it's tartness gives way to a more peppery finish. The decanted wine has a distinctive aroma of honey and the tart, peppery dryness is much more in balance. You also get the flavor of dark berries on the tongue that really wasn't there at all with the non-decanted wine. Easily the longest we've ever spent on a single bottle, subtle flavors that never stopped evolving.

VERDICT
GREAT VALUE - We can't recall our exact purchase price, but are pretty sure it was around $40. A wine this complex could easily sell for much more. This is not a bottle for the impatient or for leisurely consumption with food, but rather an education for the palate.

FACTS
Movia's vineyards lie on the Italian-Slovenian border, and while grapes technically come from both countries the winery itself is located in Slovenia. The Veliko Rosso is a blend of cabernet, merlot, and pinot noir. IWM has a nice page on Movia with more details about their so-called "radical" operations. A note about the fact that you don't really see much Slovenian wine (also from IWM)... "There was actually a government agriculture sanction for a long time in Slovenia that pretty much halted all wine production.  Except for Movia.  They felt this one winery was so important that they left only him alone to do as he pleased.  50% of his vineyards are actually in Italy so I am sure having Italy to back him up didn't hurt either."

San Leonardo 2001

This $65 bottle was a recommendation from our friends at Italian Wine Merchants. 

EXPERIENCE

The cork has a very bright, sweet aroma, but the nose on the wine couldn't be any more different. When swirled in the glass, the wine's aroma is very earthy...we're talking soil. This is not necessarily a bad thing, in fact it's often the sign of a dark, complex wine. This wine, however continues to defy our suspicions. The first taste is closer to what we got from the cork's aroma; a sweet beginning with a slightly dry and very tart finish. The tart aftertaste is so extreme that it causes you to salivate, washing away much of the wines flavor. As the bottle opened up it offered less and less, seeming almost watery on the tongue and more offensively tart on the finish.

VERDICT

SIT OUT on this wine. We didn't really enjoy this bottle, but upon doing our research it looks like this might have been a mistake on our part. According to the San Leonardo website, this vintage is rated as their highest quality; they also say you should "try to forget it in the cellar" and decant at least 2 hours before drinking. Perhaps if we had given this bottle its recommended treatment it would not have gotten our thumbs-down, perhaps we deserve a thumbs-down, and perhaps we should start doing our research before we drink? hmmm....

FACTS

This IGT blend is made up of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc and 10% Merlot. According to their website, the exact percentages are determined barrel by barrel through taste tests. The wine is aged at least 2 years in small oak barrels. The vineyard is located near the Southwestern border of the Trentino-Alto Adige region of Italy.