Marchesi Mazzei Zisola Effe Emme

Of the Zisola bottles, this was the best. Wanted BDX varietals with my burger and pulled it out. This is fairly tannic still but it must be smooth and ripe, because my daughter who does not like most reds (exception: merlot) liked it somewhat. Deep, dark, lots of black fruit, those polished tannins, a nose of violets. Little leafy note to keep it fresh. If I find more, I'll probably buy some. It's under $15, so something you can drink …

Another superb GO find, a serious age-worthy wine that has not been beaten up (as far as I can tell) in distribution. Black and blue fruit, walnut, and eventually violet show on the nose. Initially, the backbone of earth and acidity that is common in Italian BDX varieties was prominent. But as this opened up big, dark fruit and typical BDX variety cedar and herbs, with apparent acidity receding. This is a big wine, with chewy tannins that grip on …