The terrific 1990 Morellino di Scansano Riserva is a full-bodied wine that easily surpasses many of the more highly-touted and luxury-priced Brunello di Montalcinos. It is dense and full-bodied, with gobs of sweet hickory smoke and cherry-scented fruit, full body, outstanding extraction, and an overall sense of power allied with grace and balance. Drink it over the next decade. I have been impressed with the wines of this Tuscan estate. The small number of producers making Morellino di Scansano tend to turn out high quality wines that merit more attention, especially in view of the fact that they might be the "poor person's Brunello di Montalcino."
A Leonardo Lo Cascio Selection, Winebow, Hohokus, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620