The 2000 Sancta Caterina is an impressive macedoine of Tuscan and French grapes (Sangiovese, Syrah, Cabernet, and Petit Verdot). Deep, dark ruby in tone, solid and saturated to the rim, it is expansive with penetrating aromas of cassis, blackberries, graphite, tar, and minerals. Ample, tasty, and elegant in flavor, this medium-bodied effort offers a superior force and continuity across the palate. In addition, its sweet fruit, minerals, and firm, fleshy tannins promise years of life to come. It is accessible now, but will be even better from 2005 to 2015. This wine shows impeccable winemaking from Nicolo D’Afflitto, a Florentine marquis and, not incidentally, a graduate of the Institut Oenologique of the University of Bordeaux. I have occasionally had some mild words of rebuke for what I considered excessive quality variation from year to year in these wines, observations which Caterina Dei undoubtedly considered nit-picking. In any case, this is all part of the past. The wines have gone from strength to strength since the mid-1990’s and this is a very strong group. A Marc de Grazia Selection, various American importers, including Michael Skurnik, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300