Andrea Cecchi and his brother Cesare craft elegant Tuscan reds from Chianti Classico and Bolgheri. I first met Andrea at his family winery twenty years ago, and came away from the visit with not only an in depth understanding of the Chianti 2000 project (mainly about clonal research) but also a rare appellation map that I cherish to this day. I had the great pleasure of dining with Andrea yesterday at San Francisco’s Spruce Restaurant. He, Wine Ambassador Dottore Roland Marandino, and Banfi’s Jane Kettlewell were on hand to introduce us to the family’s newly launched Super Tuscan wine, Coevo. 

Cecchi Coevo Toscana IGT

The 2006 Cecchi Coevo Toscana IGT $58,  is a lovely, supple and sophisticated blend of 50% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 20% Petit Verdot, with the Sangiovese coming from their Chianti Classico estate and the Bordeaux varietals from their estate in Bolgheri’s Maremma district in the south.  While Sangiovese is easily overwhelmed or dominated by other grapes, here it stood shoulder by shoulder with the richer grapes, almost as if it were the heart and soul and the Bordeaux varietals were the framework. Delicious with Duck Confit, the wine will be hard to find. Of the 500 cases produced, only 18 will find their way to the Bay area.

Bring out the big guns for dads and grads! No one does big reds better than the folks in Napa Valley. Here are a few of my top picks for the big day (or any day).

grape goddess® recommends: 

2008 Orin Swift The Prisoner Napa Valley Red Wine $35

Dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel, the wine has aromas of sweet bramble bush, blackberry, boysenberry, blueberry, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and spearmint. On the palate it is lively and fresh with flavors of sweet berry pie. Fruit tannins are ripe and well-integrated as are the oak tannins.

2007 Quarry Vineyards The Terraces Zinfandel Napa Valley $28

This wine has inviting aromas of cardamom, incense, black licorice, fennel, mint, blackberry, blueberry, cedar and tobacco. It is full and round with a nice interplay of juicy dark berry fruit and spice. With lively acids this wine is beautifully balanced if big-boned.

2006 Nickel & Nickel Harris Vineyard Merlot Napa Valley $55

This complex wine has aromas of dark cherry, blackcurrant, raisin, date, red and black licorice, and freshly turned earth. On the palate the wine is smooth and rich with fine-grained tannins, luscious boysenberry fruit, and beautiful acid balance.

2005 Anselmo Veloce Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley $45

This wine has inviting aromas of dark stewed fruit, plum, cassis, blueberry compote, fennel, anise, tobacco, tomato and vanilla. It is full-bodied with a round and soft entry and mid-palate. Tannins kick up on the finish but otherwise the wine is balanced.

2006 Mirror Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley $75

This wine has aromas of cedar, oak spice, cherry cobbler, porcini dust and dark chocolate. It is medium-plus in body, and round and soft with dark berry, stewed fruits, cherry pie, cedar, and woodsmoke. Sweet oak overtakes the finish, but this should integrate with age or aeration.

2006 O’Shaughnessy Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley $75

This has showy aromas of sweet ripe bing cherry, plum, cassis, fig Newton, sun-dried tomato, mushroom, loam, woodsmoke, and cedar. Full and round with sweet fruit -cherry, blueberry, raisin, date – and lavish oak, which overtakes the finish a bit – this is the biggest wine of the line up and would open up nicely with decanting and big glasses.

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