When: Saturday April 14th, 2018 @ 6 pm
Theme: Chianti - we will do our usual blind tasting method
Chianti (kee-yan-tee) is an Italian red wine blend produced in Tuscany. Chianti can be made with many different varietals. Baron Bettino Ricasoli created the Chianti recipe of 70% Sangiovese, 15% Canaiolo and 15% Malvasia bianca in the middle of the nineteenth century. During the 1970s producers started to reduce the quantity of white grapes in Chianti. In 1995 it became legal to produce a Chianti with 100% Sangiovese. For a wine to retain the name of Chianti, it must be produced with at least 80% Sangiovese grapes. Chiantis tend to have medium-high acidity and medium tannins. The acidity in the wines make them very flexible with food and wine pairings, particularly with Italian cuisines that feature red sauce, as well with as beef, lamb and game.
A Chianti may have a picture of a black rooster (known in Italian as a gallo nero) on the neck of the bottle, which indicates that the producer of the wine is a member of the Gallo Nero Consortium, an association of producers of the Classico sub-area sharing marketing costs. Since 2005 the black rooster has been the emblem of the Chianti Classico producers association.
Basic level Chianti is often characterized by its juicy fruit notes of cherry, plum and raspberry and can range from simple quaffing wines to those approaching the level of Chianti Classico. Basic everyday-drinking Chiantis are at their peak between three and five years after vintage
Chianti Classico wines are characterized in their youth by their predominantly floral and cinnamon spicy bouquet. As the wine ages, aromas of tobacco and leather can emerge. Well-made examples of Chianti Classico often have the potential to age and improve in the bottle for six to twenty years.
Chianti Superiore is an Italian DOCG wine produced in the provinces of Arezzo, Florence, Pisa, Pistoia, Prato and Siena, in Tuscany. Superiore is a specification for wines produced with a stricter rule of production than other Chianti wines, and has been authorized since 1996. Chianti Superiore wines can be produced only from grapes cultivated in the Chianti wine areas except from those vineyards that are registered in the Chianti Classico sub-zone. Vineyards registered in Chianti sub-zones other than Classico can produce Chianti Superiore wines but must omit the sub-zone name on the label. Aging is calculated from 1 January after the picking. Chianti Superiore cannot be sold to the consumer before nine months of aging, of which three must be in the bottle. Therefore it cannot be bottled before the June after picking or sold to consumers before the next September.
Chianti Riserva is aged 38 months instead of 4-7. Chianti that meets more stringent requirements (lower yield, higher alcohol content and dry extract) may be labelled as Chianti Superiore, although Chianti from the "Classico" sub-area is not allowed in any event to be labelled as "Superiore".
Reminder about Italian Wine Rating Scale:
VDT --> IGT --> DOC --> DOCG (highest)
Our hostesses Lane & Vicki provided us with many delicious foods to pair with our Chianti: Stuffed mushrooms, Bruschetta on toast, Avocado, pickled okra, olives, Charcuterie, Fromages including Parmesan, Brie, and fresh Mozzerella Cheese, Spaghetti Squash/Chicken/Pesto Casserole, Caramel Cheesecake.
Tasting Notes:
Welcome Wine:
1) 2012 Ampeleia Tuscan IGT Red Blend (not a Chianti) ~ $35 @ Le Caveau Fine Wines
13.5% Alcohol
Indicative blend: 50% Cabernet Franc, 20% Sangiovese, 30% of four different Mediterranean varieties. A collaboration among Elisabetta Foradori, Giovanni Podini and Thomas Widmann. Formerly Ampelaia was labeled as Maremma Toscana IGT.
cherry, alcohol, heat, earthy, currant, blackberry, red currant, smell blackberry but taste raspberry, briny, pepper on finish, dry, medium finish, a Sangiovese Clone perhaps? fruity finish, strawberry, dark berry, young airy finish.
2) 2015 Fattoria di Felsina Berardenga Chianti Classico ~ $20 via Garagiste
13% Alcohol
chocolate, cocoa powder, cherry cordial, riserva? guesses Chris? deeper, richer, all good so far, dry, bitter, aged, oaky, the more I drink it the better I like it.
3) 2013 Marchese Antinori Tignanello Chianti Riserva ~ $40 retail
13.5% alcohol
sour milk, astringent, terrible nose, smooth, ok for a Monday, 3 dumps at once! pales in comparison to the 2nd wine, I don't usually dump but...
4) 2011 MonteMaggio Chianti Classico ~ $26 @ Total Wine
14.5% alcohol
lovely bouquet, floral and fruit, jammy, white pepper finish, strawberry and black pepper in the back, acidic finish, tangy, good dinner wine, memorable, sits with you, you'll never forget it, a short term love affair.
5) 2013 Cantine F.lli Bellini Chianti Rufina Riserva Fattoria Monte ~ $18 @ Total Wine
12.5% Alcohol
earthy, organic, manure, sharp, warm, poo poo, compost, sweet tart, sour apple, tannins, pucker, a warm virile man fresh from the stable, cinnamon, classico guess from Christy, wet earth, potting soil, early stages of compost heap, snake charmer, it's got a lil French tickler on it, after the cheese it's not good.
6) 2013 Ruffino Ducale Chianti Classico Riserva ~ $ 20 retail
13.5% alcohol
tangy, manure, mild light nose, velvet nose, fruit forward, but the flavor trails off like Fruit Stripe Gum, flat, flabby, no follow-thru.
7) 2014 Frescobaldi Nipozzano Chianti Rufina Riserva ~ $21 retail
13% alcohol
mild, fruity on the nose, chocolate, good 3rd bottle of the night, cherry tobacco, no body, soil, a lil' punch in the face, chewy on the backend, the last Jedi, nutty tastes, butternut, promising on the nose, great size but not girth, fruity-not-too-fruity, not searching for anything, doesn't linger, flash in the pan, forgettable.
8) 2012 San Felice Il Grigio Chianti Classico Riserva ~ $24.99 @ Brookhaven Wines
13% alcohol
licorice, anise, oak and pepper, chocolate, easy drinking, late night wine, light pepper finish, nice, smooth, potting soil, we like this one!
9) 2013 Gaja Ca'Marcanda Promis IGT Red Blend (not a Chianti) - $40 @ Beverage World
13.5% alcohol, Red Blend (Merlot, Syrah and a small part Sangiovese)
berry nose, cassis, briny olive then pepper, great with steak! tangy, pushes #1, more substance!
10) 2013 Frescobaldi Nipozzano Chianti Rufina Riserva - $30 @ Vino Venue
13% alcohol
leather, sumptuous cherries, dark fruit, pine, tart berry, smooth, unfolding on my tongue, I can feel it spreading, easy drinking, I like this,
VOTING results!
We voted on which wines we liked the best.
First Place = #2, the 2015 Fattoria di Felsina Berardenga Chianti Classico
Second Place = #1, the 2012 Ampeleia Tuscan IGT Red Blend (not a Chianti)
Third Place = #9, the 2013 Gaja Ca'Marcanda Promis IGT Red Blend (not a Chianti)
Fourth Place was tied between #3, #4, #5, and #10.
