WIA Italian of the year coming in hot today!! A no-brainer at $19, with a pedigree to back it. If you’re new around here, WIA stands for Wine Intrigue Awards, when we revisit our best, most popular, most re-requested wines of the year. One last chance to grab your favorites!

This sold out the first time around. Hey, we tried to warn you.

This time, we got even less, but we couldn’t say no to this juicy good, 91 point, Sassicaia-winemaker-bred Super Tuscan. It’s a stunning value, an affordable treat everyone should experience.

Just one vintage ago Antonio Galloni’s Vinous must have seen it coming, “there is certainly a lot of potential here” they wrote.

Then 2017 happened. Vinous has not caught up with La Pace’s 2017s yet, while in the words of James Suckling it’s a vintage where “many outstanding wines appear to have been made. I looked forward to tasting them in bottle in a year or two and seeing how they evolve. No doubt some exceptional wines will be bottled.”

And they were.

La Pace, a relative newcomer to the Tuscan scene, perhaps does not yet have the reputation or history to get $100+ a bottle like the cult -aia suffixed jewels grown and made nearby. Yet they broke the 90+ points barrier recently with quality on the rise, tremendous back-to-back vintages on their side.

Now at the humble $45 release price, this gives the competition a run for the money. With our magical superpowers and somewhat antiquated old-school spy negotiation tactics, we beat this beauty down to a ridonculous $19 for ya. Resistance is futile.

This tiny little Podere is as coastally located as they get, just 6 miles inland from the Tyrrhenian Sea, so the vineyards are constantly swept by Mediterranean breezes that carry not just fresh cool air but also the flair of the seas to the insanely perfect low hanging fruit.

To carry this natural abundance unscathed and elevated into the bottle, La Pace commissioned a name you might recognize - Graziana Grassini - consultant for Tenuta San Guido. Yes, you read that right, THAT San Guido of Sassicaia fame. Now if she is trusted with making what’s arguably the greatest of all Italian wine, imagine where she’ll be taking La Pace…

Lead by Merlot, backed by a third Cabernet Franc, the deep color all crimson, ruby red, purple, and scarlet make up the first striking bit. Then comes the perfume, it’s bright in red berry tines, with an undercurrent of blackberries, plums, and roasted herbs, some lavender even. The sleek, and round mouthfeel is supple with cigar box and cedar nuances peeking through the rich fruit core. Its prolonged aromas and flavors echo the nose and the midpalate effortlessly. Bistecca alla Fiorentina, or the famous ‘Tuscan T-bone’ as you’re better known stateside, meet your new weekday night companion!

And good luck y’all finding a better deal out there that is crafted by Sassicaia’s enologist!

Ready, set, go… will sell out.

91 Points – James Suckling

“A subtle, fruity red from this hot vintage that delivers berries, hazelnuts and hints of walnuts. Rather reserved and not overdone. Firm tannins. Drink or hold.”