| Chianti 2008 Tasting Report |
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| Ruffino 2004 Riserva Ducale Oro – Chianti Classico, Tuscany, Italy |
Notes – This is a big Chianti with a masculine oak and
spice nose. As far as fruit goes, it tends to focus more
on red & black cherries with a little menthol flavoring
and silky tannins. Although it is full-bodied it does
finish a little hot. I thought it stood head and shoulders
above the rest and many others did too. You could lay
this wine down for a couple of years as well.
spice nose. As far as fruit goes, it tends to focus more
on red & black cherries with a little menthol flavoring
and silky tannins. Although it is full-bodied it does
finish a little hot. I thought it stood head and shoulders
above the rest and many others did too. You could lay
this wine down for a couple of years as well.
| About $35.00 |
| Score A- |
| Ruffino 2005 Aziano – Chianti Classico, Tuscany, Italy |
Notes – Maybe not as big and full-bodied as its bigger
brother, but there is a lot to like here as well. Plum,
cherry and spice aromas mix in well with some violet
undertones. On the palate it appears to seem new
world in style with nice rich fruits and very little rustic
tannins to get in the way.
brother, but there is a lot to like here as well. Plum,
cherry and spice aromas mix in well with some violet
undertones. On the palate it appears to seem new
world in style with nice rich fruits and very little rustic
tannins to get in the way.
| Around $15.00 |
| Score B+ |
| Querciabella 2006 - Chianti Classico, Tuscany, Italy |
Notes – This ruby red Chianti had a plum cherry nose
that followed through to the palate. It was a soft, one-
dimensional wine, but at least it did that one-dimension
really well. I believe Wine Spectator just gave this
wine 91pts. Perhaps it’s a little closed right now and
just needs a little time to develop more complexity.
that followed through to the palate. It was a soft, one-
dimensional wine, but at least it did that one-dimension
really well. I believe Wine Spectator just gave this
wine 91pts. Perhaps it’s a little closed right now and
just needs a little time to develop more complexity.
| Score B+ |
| About $28.00 |
| Castello di Monsanto 2004 Riserva – Chianti Classico, Tuscany, Italy |
Notes – This wine was a little lighter red in color with
rustic and herbal aromas. It had plenty of tart cherries
to coat your mouth with acidity. The wine was very
pleasant and would make a great food wine, but the
finish for me was a little short. This is one of the
wineries that Leslie & I visited on our trip to Italy in
2006.
rustic and herbal aromas. It had plenty of tart cherries
to coat your mouth with acidity. The wine was very
pleasant and would make a great food wine, but the
finish for me was a little short. This is one of the
wineries that Leslie & I visited on our trip to Italy in
2006.
| Score B+ |
| Around $22.00 |
| Dellatorri 2006 Chianti, Tuscany, Italy |
Notes – I enjoyed the nose on this little Chianti, it was
fairly complex and full of cherry and spice notes. On
the palate it showed some strawberries, cinnamon and
some slightly herbal accents. There is also a high level
of acidity and young tannins that need to round out
before the wine becomes ideal.
fairly complex and full of cherry and spice notes. On
the palate it showed some strawberries, cinnamon and
some slightly herbal accents. There is also a high level
of acidity and young tannins that need to round out
before the wine becomes ideal.
| About $11.00 |
| Score B+ |
| Da Vinci 2004 Riserva – Chianti, Tuscany, Italy |
Notes – This wine is a deep purple/red with a very
rustic nose. To me it appeared to be more traditional
in style being a little rustic and gamy with chalky
tannins that finally gave way to some black fruits on
the finish. Probably more what you think of when you
are thinking old school Chianti wine.
rustic nose. To me it appeared to be more traditional
in style being a little rustic and gamy with chalky
tannins that finally gave way to some black fruits on
the finish. Probably more what you think of when you
are thinking old school Chianti wine.
| About $24.00 |
| Score B+ |
For our September Staff tasting, we decided to re-
visit a wine that I have always felt personally we
staff tasting. That being Italian Chianti’s made
from the Sangiovese grape. The previous tasting
only ended up with four different wines, but this
time around we had eight, technically nine,
Chianti wines to sample. The ninth being a
Sangiovese made and grown right here in Allen,
TX in 2007. Because it was so radically different
from the rest and judged accordingly, I decided
to not include it in the results.
Jennifer and Ian were our hosts this month and
we decided to do this tasting potluck style. There
were several great dishes and appetizers to fill our
bellies before we began our tasting. I want to
thank everyone for bringing some great food and
cheeses; I don’t think I’ll be able to eat anything
else for a week. To top it all off, Ian made some
molten chocolate cakes and the ladies completely
flipped out over those!
As for the Chianti’s in our tasting, we covered a
good mix of vintages going back to 2001 and
skipping forward to 2004 through 2006, missing
out on the two inferior vintages of 2002 & 2003.
Looking back on the results, I don’t believe the
vintage really played a key role in how we favored
the wines. They seemed to be very random. I
would also venture to say that any one of these
wines would be ideal with Italian food and pizza,
so if you were looking for a dinner wine, you
couldn’t go wrong here with any of them. Our
first place wine, and the only one receiving an “A-
“ score, did stand out above the others, but from
there on out the scores were very tight and
separated by just a few points.
I think what we came away determining about
Chianti wines is that they really need food to
show their charm. They are rustic and otherwise
hard to just sip wines with very high amounts of
acidity. Acidity is great for cutting through food,
like in this case, tomato sauces, but hard to drink
on it’s own without food. They would be ideal
wines to drink with hard cheeses like Parmesan
Reggiano.
I would once again like to thank Jennifer and Ian
for hosting and everyone else for bringing the
delicious food. I hope you enjoy the results:
visit a wine that I have always felt personally we
staff tasting. That being Italian Chianti’s made
from the Sangiovese grape. The previous tasting
only ended up with four different wines, but this
time around we had eight, technically nine,
Chianti wines to sample. The ninth being a
Sangiovese made and grown right here in Allen,
TX in 2007. Because it was so radically different
from the rest and judged accordingly, I decided
to not include it in the results.
Jennifer and Ian were our hosts this month and
we decided to do this tasting potluck style. There
were several great dishes and appetizers to fill our
bellies before we began our tasting. I want to
thank everyone for bringing some great food and
cheeses; I don’t think I’ll be able to eat anything
else for a week. To top it all off, Ian made some
molten chocolate cakes and the ladies completely
flipped out over those!
As for the Chianti’s in our tasting, we covered a
good mix of vintages going back to 2001 and
skipping forward to 2004 through 2006, missing
out on the two inferior vintages of 2002 & 2003.
Looking back on the results, I don’t believe the
vintage really played a key role in how we favored
the wines. They seemed to be very random. I
would also venture to say that any one of these
wines would be ideal with Italian food and pizza,
so if you were looking for a dinner wine, you
couldn’t go wrong here with any of them. Our
first place wine, and the only one receiving an “A-
“ score, did stand out above the others, but from
there on out the scores were very tight and
separated by just a few points.
I think what we came away determining about
Chianti wines is that they really need food to
show their charm. They are rustic and otherwise
hard to just sip wines with very high amounts of
acidity. Acidity is great for cutting through food,
like in this case, tomato sauces, but hard to drink
on it’s own without food. They would be ideal
wines to drink with hard cheeses like Parmesan
Reggiano.
I would once again like to thank Jennifer and Ian
for hosting and everyone else for bringing the
delicious food. I hope you enjoy the results:
| Querceto 2001 Riserva – Chianti Classico, Tuscany, Italy |
Notes – This has an old rustic barrel nose on it. The
palate got things going with a full-body of red fruits,
chocolate and spices. Definitely a rustic style though.
This wine probably would have finished closer to the
top, but one person’s score was so low, they sunk it to
the bottom.
palate got things going with a full-body of red fruits,
chocolate and spices. Definitely a rustic style though.
This wine probably would have finished closer to the
top, but one person’s score was so low, they sunk it to
the bottom.
| About $22.00 |
| Score B |
| Da Vinci 2006 Chianti, Tuscany, Italy |
Notes – Ruby red with a big plumy nose. Fruity
upfront with an acidic aftertaste as well as being young
and tannic with a smattering of plums and
blackberries. I actually preferred this wine over their
Riserva and think it would pair better with food.
upfront with an acidic aftertaste as well as being young
and tannic with a smattering of plums and
blackberries. I actually preferred this wine over their
Riserva and think it would pair better with food.
| About $14.00 |
| Score B |
