Italian Wine, American Cheese

Pullled out an Italian wine from the cellar tonight after dinner and cut up some cheese to try with it. Yummy stuff!

Wine: 2006 Poggio Alle Sughere Morellino di Scansano
Cheese: Beehive Cheese Co. SeaHive, Les Petites Fermieres Gouda

Color: 5/5
Really dark plum colored, good clarity, and very saturated. Color bleeds to the glass.

Nose: 13/15
Lovely earthy funk on the nose, with undertones of strawberry, tar, licorice/anise, and black pepper. Maybe a little cigar tobacco. Some rust.

Taste: 9/10
And a sip... first thought was "huh, a little thin..." but then these tannins hit. Rich soil, black pepper, green pepper, lightly fruity (indistinct fruits). Cheek puckering!

Finish: 6/10
The finish is a little hot, a little sharp. Might just need some time to open up - I did just pop and pour. Kind of chalky. And quite tannic. Can't pin down any particular flavor on the finish... kind of weird. But in a good way.

Aging: 4/5
I think this needs more bottle time, and I think I'm going to draw very slowly on this glass so that by the time it's done, the open bottle will be ready for a second pour. I also think this is going to age beautifully for quite some time.

Overall: 4/5
I like it. It's not ready yet, but I like it. Quite a bit.

Total: 91pts

The SeaHive cheese really tones down the earthy flavors and draws out the fruit - fresh blackberries and cassis, with slighty underripe strawberries. It also helps to temper the heat on the finish.

Having a sip after the Gouda draws out a massive flavor of black licorice, both on the palate and on the finish. Almost overwhelmingly licorice. After another bite the licorice tones down (must have been the combination of the SeaHive with the Gouda) and similar fruit comes out, with a little bit of watermelon as well.

Man, the tannins on this are just huge. If you have this, lay it down. Leave it for at least another year. It's tasty now if you want to be patient and decant it for a while, and it's great with the cheese.