With a perfect 13% alcohol, the 21 year-old 1997 Excelsus, a Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend from Castello Banfi, Montalcino, Italy, scored 18 points on the Dionysian scale of a possible 20. A Gold Medal wine. Costing about $45, the wine is nearing peak and needed an extra hour of air after decanting to fully open.
Served with a homemade arugula-stuffed ravioli, the wine helped reflect all the nuances in the Jersey tomato sauce.
Great wines need simple food pairing to show their best. Excelsus will hold up to wild boar and gam,e meats, but it was perfect with the pasta-based dish.
The Excelsus was all plum and blackberry when I first sampled it on release with Sharron McCarthy, a Dionysian member and Banfi’s wine educator. Now, it shows some new leather mixed with plum and blueberry. It is perfectly balanced and very smooth with a long aftertaste. Buy this wine by the case and age them. In vino veritas.
They’re excellent every year, but I think the 2010’s will easily age for decades. Find a friend who has some older ones.
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