La Mozza is the newest wine venture borne from the collobaration of Mario Batali and Joe and Lidia Bastianich. Nestled in the Maremma, along the Tuscan coast, their winery produces mainly two red wines; a Morellino di Scansano and a Super Tuscan called Aragone.
Aragone is a blend of 40% Sangiovese, 25% Alicante, 25% Syrah, and 10% Carignane which roughly represents the proportion of the vineyards producing the wine. The 2007 La Mozza Aragone is a study in contrast. As the title of this article suggests, the wine was vastly different; in this case, with and without food.
In the glass, the wine is a dark blackish red. The other varietals in the blend clearly supplement the ruby color of Sangiovese. I decanted the wine for about 45 minutes – which seemed to have little effect. The wine displayed a pleasing nose of black plum fruit, smoke, and mushrooms. In the mouth the wine is tightly knit and not giving much. Seemingly very lean, with plum flavors followed by French oak infused leather and dried herbs. There was a gamey quality that I sense came from the Syrah. Given the ripeness of the vintage, I expected a bit more forwardness to the fruit. However, with the food, the leaness completely disappeared and the fruit component to the wine gained considerable weight. I don’t know if this was the winemakers intention – i.e. to craft a “food” wine – but if so, he succeeded admirably.
I’m not sure the wine is worth the full retail price of $40, but at the discounted $20 that I paid, it’s very nice indeed. Just keep to the second tale, and enjoy this one with food. 90 points.
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| 2007 La Mozza Aragone |
John, for the $20 I'll bite!
I think I would too. Not at $40 though – can buy Brunello for that. The thing is, it's worth poking around. Pricing on this wine seems to be all over the place.
I"m the lucky recipient of a Joe Bastianich Melchoir La Mozza's Aragone 2004 Sangiovese/Syrah blend. I'm curious about the $ value. Can anyone help me with that?
I don't know what "Melchoir" means. ?? Per my post above, the 2004 Aragone retails for about $40. I've seen it Nationwide via Wine Searcher for as low as $35.
A melchoir is a large bottle that holds 18 liters (24 regular bottles) of wine. So it is hard for me to value, because I don't think it is equal to $35 times 24.