Box Wines
A wine blog with news and reviews of affordable wines

Price: $20
Maker: Flat Creek Estate
Variety: Sangiovese
Packaging: Bottle, natural cork
Alcohol: 12.5%
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Texas isn’t the first, or even second, state that comes to mind for fine U.S. wines, but Flat Creek Estate SuperTexan Sangiovese 2004 will certainly help the Lone Star state earn a place on the wine map. This Sangiovese has a lovely garnet color that transmits a bit more light than many reds. The wine has an inviting aroma, with strawberry, spice, and light floral notes. It’s on the light side of medium-bodied, and it’s well-structured. Cherry, strawberry, and licorice notes combine with oak and a moderately acidic finish to produce a complex and pleasing wine.

Sangiovese is the primary ingredient of Chianti, and “Super Texan” is a play on SuperTuscan wines that use the same grape. Flat Creek has done well with the Super Texan concept - the 2003 vintage won a double gold at the San Francisco International Wine Competition. Flat Creek went halfway around the globe to find a winemaker, signing up Vicky-Louise Bartier:

Vicky, a 5th generation Australian, left her native Hunter Valley and Australia’s oldest wine region to study at the world renowned Roseworthy Agricultural in South Australia. She graduated in 1987 with a degree in both Enology and Viticulture. Vicky has honed her skills working extensively in Australia in senior winemaking roles for The Hardy Wine Company and Orlando Wyndham. Vicky is a winemaker with more than 600 awards in Australian, American and European competitions. She believes in making varietal fruit driven wines with a minimum of winemaking intervention.

Wine Tastings tried the 2003 vintage for WBW #12 (way back in Wine Blogging Wednesday history), and proclaimed it “excellent.” We paired Flat Creek Estate Super Texan with grilled T-Bones, and it held up well for a lighter red. We encountered this wine via another blogger, Hummer Guy, who scours the Texas back country looking for off-road challenges and, apparently, the occasional fine wine.

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