Del Dotto Napa Valley Sangiovese 1999
With Beth C back from SC for the week, we met for a midweek dinner out at Angeli's Italian, our favorite neighborhood trattoria. I took BYOB this Del Dotto Napa Valley Sangiovese 1999, one of our go-to wines for Angeli's since we don't have an extensive Italian collection in our cellar. We consumed all of our early vintage releases of this label so we recently acquired a few bottles of this 1999 at auction for immediate consumption.We discovered this label during several visits to the winery and vineyards back in the nineties. At that time, it was unique as Del Dotto were pioneers in Napa Valley Sangiovese under the direction of legendary Nils Venge, wine maker for Del Dotto at the time. They planted some in front of the estate on the burm along Hwy 29 just south of Zinfandel Lane. And the rest, as they say, is history.
The wine pairing was ideal with our entree selections, simple, cheese ravioli with bolognese sauce and an order of their Italian Sausage and Peppers.
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| With Dave Del Dotto during one of our Napa visits to the Estate around the millennium |
While clearly past its prime and showing its age as the fruits start to subside and give way to tones of leather, tobacco leaf and tar, this is still drinking nicely and has some life left and pairs well with pasta and hearty sauce.
Dark blacksh garnet with a slight hue of brickish rust starting to set in, medium full bodied, tones of black cherry and black berry fruits starting to give way to a layer of leather tobacco leaf. hints of creosote and a bit of fig.
RM 88 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=134845
http://www.deldottovineyards.com/