1997 Castello Banfi Tavernelle -- Cabernet Sauvignon from southern Tuscany. Dark ruby with some bricking at the edges; nice berry/vanilla nose; blackberry, cherry, vanilla, and LOTS of buttery oak flavors; medium weight, smooth texture, virtually no tannins; medium-length finish. Nice Cab, no excitement. May improve minimally, but the fruit won't outlast that amount of wood. App. 86-8 pts.

A bit of a disappointment to me, based on vintage expectations.

ojeffso, do you have an Italy-connection a la our Burgundy-connection? I'm interested in getting into some Italian wines and want to know if you "know" anybody.

jb

I would.

No tightness, not much tannin, lots of oak that won't disappear: perhaps match it with red meats to mask the oak a bit. We had with grilled squab with a red wineand thyme jus, and cabbage braised with bacon. The strong flavors made it a reasonable match with the wine.

i was disappointed as well, not only because of the vintage, but just my overall expecations from italia in 1997. most all i've had has been good, with this being a top 100 from 2000, i generally expect more. mid 80s and basically an uninspired wine. little nose, no wow factor. tight on the finish, not giving as much as i thought. i have one more only and won't be buying more.

Had one of our remaining 5 bottles last nite. Lost alot of the fruit, but the tannins have softened. Had this in Jan. '02 and it was much more wow ! then. Well, only four left to go.

Definitely disappointed as well, since it was great when I had it first, and the vintage is supposed to be superb as well.