Capri Indy Italian Cuisine & Wine Dinner Features San Guido Guildalberto and Arcanum Toscana
The Italian cuisine was extraordinary - the Veal Scallopine Parmigiana and off-menu specially prepared eggplant Parmigiana were both were as good as we can remember ever having tasted anywhere.
They have a thoughtfully crafted extensive winelist with equal offerings of American and Italian wines, including selections of both by the glass.
We selected two Italian red wines, Tuscans comprised of Bordeaux varietals to complement our dinner entrees.
Tenuta di Arceno Arcanum Toscana IGT 2013
This outstanding Super Tuscan was a special offer, not on the winelist.
Arcanum is from Tenuta di Arceno in located in the southernmost corner of Chianti Classico between the cities of Siena and Florence in the commune of Castelnuovo Berardenga in the province of Siena, Tuscany.
The property covers 2,500 acres of rolling hills, forests of ancient Cypress trees, olive groves and 223 acres planted to vineyards. It is bordered by the ancient walled town of San Gusmé.
The Tenuta di Arceno estate was purchased by the California wine legend Jess Jackson in 1994. The legendary wine entrepreneur Jess Jackson and notable winemaker Vigneron Pierre Seillan visited Tenuta di Arceno in 1994 and immediately recognized the potential of the historic estate.
After taking over the estate, they spent the following two decades replanting the vineyards, updating the winery, and elevating the viticulture and winemaking practices to world-class standards. Today, Tenuta di Arceno is widely considered one of the premier estates in the Chianti Classico region.
This Arcanum 2013 label release was crafted by Seillan who has has been awarded no less than fifteen 100-point scores from Wine Advocate for his work with the Sonoma producer Peter Michael and his portfolio of labels including the flagship Verite. Five of those perfect wines were for his Cabernet Franc based wine Le Desir which is nearly identical to the blend of this Super Tuscan.
Cabernet Franc is the predominant varietal grape grown by Arcanum as it has proven to be the variety best suited to the estate’s diverse soils and topography.
This was dark garnet colored, full bodied, deeply concentrated, complex, powerful and thickly layered yet nicely balanced and approachable black berry and black cherry fruits accented note of spice, anise, graphite, herbs and notes of balsamic on a fine tannin laced lingering finish.
This was awarded 96 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.
The 2013 Arcanum is a Bordeaux blend of 73% Cabernet Franc with smaller parts Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3642920
We then followed with this classic Italian Chianti Classico.
Tenuta San Guido Guildalberto 2019
We next tasted this big bold bright lively Italian red.
This is from Tenuta San Guido, a 7,500-acre estate located in the province of Livorno on the western coastal outskirts of Tuscany near the village of Bolgheri. Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta acquired it through his marriage to Clarice della Gherardesca in 1940.
Tenuta San Guido are known for their legendary flagship Sassicaia label whose legacy began in 1944, when Mario Incisa acquired a number of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc vine cuttings and planted them on a sloping hillside of the San Guido estate, called Castiglioncello after the 11th-century castle at the vineyard's upper edge. The tiny, 3.75-acre vineyard stood alone until 1965, when a second Cabernet vineyard was planted with cuttings from the Castiglioncello parcel; the gravelly, 30-acre plot would give the wine its name: Sassicaia, "the place of many stones".
Producer Nicolò Incisa explained the choice of the name and creation of the new wine in 2000: this label wine was first released in 2000, created to see what they could achieve with Merlot, a grape that they had never used before; and to offer the consumer a wine which could be appreciated at a younger age compared to the veteran long lived Sassicaia.
The wine
is aged 15 months mostly in French and some American oak barrels.
This 2019 release was 95 points and Editor's Choice by Wine Enthusiast, 95 points Luca Gardini, Gardini Notes and 94 Points by the Zachys (NY) Buying Team.
We first tasted and discovered this label at a wine producer dinner at Italian Village Chicago last year hosted by Italian Village Chicago and Wine Director Jared Gelband and featuring producer co-owner Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta. That dinner showcased a vertical tasting of the flagship Sassicaia, but opened with this label.
This was darky inky garnet purple colored, medium full bodied, nicely balanced, bright vibrant blackberry and ripe plum fruits accented by zesty anise, hints of smoke, vanilla and graphite, and by tangy acid on the expressive finish.
RM 91 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3642920