INSIDER'S PICK: 2016 TOLANI SRL 'LEGIT' CABERNET SAUVIGNON IGT TOSCANA ROSSO (Wine Spectator 95pts) $39.99

Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We will be returning to doing just the one wine on Thursdays and Fridays until further notice. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.

For Valentine's Day coming this weekend (just in case you forgot), we're showing off something nicer than usual in the Insider's Pick, as well as something a little atypical. Cabernet Sauvignon and the other Bordeaux varieties are very much interlopers in Tuscany, largely ignored and even discouraged within the Chianti borders until the success of early Bolgheri region wines in the early 1970s. It took until the 1990s for adjustments to be made to the Italian DOC laws to make inclusions that acknowledge the high quality potential for Cab Sauv here, and even then there was a lot of  controversy about wineries trying to 'sneak it in' to their traditional wines in an effort to boost intensity. Now the region has evolved to be more inclusive, allowing wines such as this to not only exist but thrive. Nothing about this wine screams Tuscany at first glance, from being 100% Cabernet to the Thelonius Monk label image. But as most things complex and outstanding, it starts to make sense on closer inspection, such as the Monk photo is from a live album recorded in Milan in 1961. And while the wine won't be confused with a Chianti Classico, it's dripping with Tuscan character that definitely stands it out from a Californian or Bordeaux. Savory dark fruit, black spice and graphite on the nose with only a touch of well absorbed new oak at first, and evolving well over several hours in the glass or a decanter to bring out dried spices, anise and Brunello-esque dusty herbs. The palate is full but not saturated, lighter on its feet than even a Bordeaux, with very fine but firm tannins that give the flavors and finish plenty of intensity. A wine that easily has another decade or more of life ahead of it, but can make a long weekend evening that much more enjoyable right now.

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