Cantina Del Grifone 1967 Toscana – Trader Joe’s Week Wine #4

[Check out our most recent Trader Joe’s series here!]

85% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Syrah from Tuscany, Italy.

Purchased for $5.99. Available exclusively at Trader Joe’s.

From the bottle:

“In 1967, one year before I was born and two years before Woodstock and the first Moon-walking, my uncle Giorgio blended the first Toscana using a special ageing method that is still used today in our Grifone cellar to obtain a fruity, soft and smooth Sangiovese based “Supertuscan” from grapes selected on the Tyrrhenian coastal vineyards.

12.5% Alcohol”

Cheap Italian red wines like today’s selection is an area where Trader Joe’s really excels. We’ll have several more for you in this week’s series but first let’s review where we’ve been:

Wine in the Trader Joe’s Week series:

• Berton Vineyard The Black Shiraz 2011 – Trader Joe’s Week Wine #1. Plus The Trader Joe’s Pricing Strategy Revealed!
• Cheap and Refreshing White Wines – Trader Joe’s Week Wines #2 and #3
• Cantina Del Grifone 1967 Toscana 2009 – Trader Joe’s Week Wine #4. A perfect partner for a pizza!
• Pontificis GSM Blend 2011 – Trader Joe’s Week Wine #5. A GSM blend for the masses!
• Brunello and Barbaresco On The Cheap – Trader Joe’s Week Wines #6 and #7. The 2008 Sommavite Brunello di Montalcino Annata and the 2009 Rocca dell’Olmo Barbaresco
• TJ’s Classics – Trader Joe’s Week Wines #8, #9 and #10. The 2011 Cocobon Red Wine, 2011 Trentatre Rosso 33 and 2009 Epicuro Salice Salentino Riserva.
• Also be sure to check our Costco Week series for another source of great, inexpensive and widely available wine!

The 2009 Cantina Del Grifone 1967 Toscana catches your attention the moment you uncork it thanks to the very strong and pleasant aromas of red and black fruit, a little black pepper, spice and some nice violet notes. Tasting the wine reveals more fruit with the spice and other components taking a back seat. Strawberry and black cherry stand out among the abundance of red and black fruit flavors as well as a hint of red licorice. This soft and smooth wine is actually rather one dimensional – it’s all about the fruit – but it works, and especially so when paired with a pizza. At only $5.99 you really can’t ask for much more than this wine delivers. It ends with some mild oaky notes on the medium length finish.

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