Avignonesi
Occhio di Pernice Vin Santo di Montepulciano Sangiovese
Montepulciano, Siena, Tuscany, Italy
How do you define a wine such as this? The descriptors could go on for a page, but what I believe truly defines the Occhio di Pernice is its contrasts of sweet versus savory, heavy versus weightless and it’s unbelievably long finish. The color is a dark amber, more like a long aged Balsamico, than Vin Santo. Twirl the glass and watch as this elixir slowly melts away from the edges. You can’t call these legs—as the wine coats the glass in a layer of dark maple that never truly goes away. I put my nose to the glass and find long-aged cherry Balsamico, raw honey, espresso, fig paste, brown sugar, caramel—I could keep going. On the palate, it has the weight of syrup, yet seems to become weightless as this coats the senses and saturates them with notes of toffee, fig, raisin and maple. Yet there’s a savory note here, like smoked meat with an intense minerality and hints of tannin. As for the finish, I was moved to blurt out the word “WOW”, as notes of coffee, dark chocolate, spice and dried cherry seemed to linger for well over a minute.
How do you define a wine such as this? The descriptors could go on for a page, but what I believe truly defines the Occhio di Pernice is its contrasts of sweet versus savory, heavy versus weightless and it’s unbelievably long finish. The color is a dark amber, more like a long aged Balsamico, than Vin Santo. Twirl the glass and watch as this elixir slowly melts away from the edges. You can’t call these legs—as the wine coats the glass in a layer of dark maple that never truly goes away. I put my nose to the glass and find long-aged cherry Balsamico, raw honey, espresso, fig paste, brown sugar, caramel—I could keep going. On the palate, it has the weight of syrup, yet seems to become weightless as this coats the senses and saturates them with notes of toffee, fig, raisin and maple. Yet there’s a savory note here, like smoked meat with an intense minerality and hints of tannin. As for the finish, I was moved to blurt out the word “WOW”, as notes of coffee, dark chocolate, spice and dried cherry seemed to linger for well over a minute.
Feb 12th, 2016
WTF
WTF
Mar 24th, 2015
It is what it is. Mix equal parts Guinness and honey and reduce with a twist of lemon.
It is what it is. Mix equal parts Guinness and honey and reduce with a twist of lemon.
Aug 6th, 2015
No idea what we were drinking recommended by Somm absolutely delicious dessert wine Tasted like prunes but not highly recommend
No idea what we were drinking recommended by Somm absolutely delicious dessert wine Tasted like prunes but not highly recommend
Jun 18th, 2015
Ronnie had this 11 years ago
Ronnie had this 11 years ago
Nov 30th, 2015
