Old world tasting like New World

WINE TALK
1

I recently had a Sassicaia and found it extremely modern, bold, and rich (like many other Super Tuscans), resembling more to a New World wine. Are there any other old world wines that have big new world characteristics?

2

Pretty much anything from Saint Emilion these days. Look, in particular, for any wine where the consultant was Rolland or Bouard or Derenoncort.

Reputedly some are scaling back the modernism, but I wonder. Try the 2009 vintage.

3

This is a very interesting topic.

I wonder if people are all buying the same automated ultra-sorters? [cheers.gif]

4

Most modernist Barolo / Barbaresco producers like La Spinetta and Conterno Fantino.

Many Austrian Pinot Noirs taste like something that would be at home in California.

Lots of old Rioja wineries have their flagship red look and taste more like Napa Cab than anything from Rioja.

5

Leoville Poyferré
Troplong Mondot
Lascombes
Many other St. Emilions

6

We blinded tasted a 1990 Troplong Mondot last year and thought it was Napa.

7

Any expensive Spanish red that weighs as much as a magnum but actually is 75cl.

8

Lots of southern French that could pass for Paso.

9

Ha, El Nido!

10

It’s why the terms “old world” and “new world” are pointless. They’re making wine from ancient grapes in Spain that taste like they’re from Australia. And geographically, Australia has the oldest soils on the planet, so it’s the oldest of the old world, but had a reputation among many wine drinkers as a place for high-alcohol Shiraz almost exclusively.

As to the OP, Sassicaia never had any tradition that would make it “old world” other than the fact that it was in Europe. The guy liked fast cars and wine and he wanted to have some wine like the Bordeaux he enjoyed, so he brought some grapes over from France and planted them. Made a pretty good wine while he was at it and had the good fortune not to be bothered by pointless restrictions on the kinds of grapes and wine making practices he had to follow, because there was no entrenched status quo to force their preferences on everyone.