WTN: Chianti tasting

[futronic]

These were part of a tasting I hosted in October.

2000 Fontodi Chianti Classico

$28CAD

Decanted for two hours. Initial "funk" on the nose blew off with air time. Dark ruby red, crystal clear in the glass. Nice slow legs.

Aromas of cherries, earth, banana peel, bacon fat, smoke, raspberry, and coffee. Very fresh.

Medium-full bodied with peppery and cherry notes. Spice and black fruits too. A hint of herbaceousness that was not unpleasant at all and a 30+ second finish.

Overall, a delicious Chianti Classico, and one of the better ones I've had in a while.

89 points.

2000 Badia a Coltibuono Chianti Classico

$27CAD (I think)

Ruby red colour to rim; crystal clear. Aromas of cherry, pear, glycerin, and wet earth. Very fresh smell. Almost a cola touch to it. Medium bodied, firm tannin, fresh tasting, bursting with cherry notes. 15s finish with cherries following right through to the end. Tasty. 87 points (10/14/2003).

2000 Fonterutoli Chianti Classico

Approx $30-33CAD

Not decanted, allowed to breathe for 3 hours. Dark ruby red, almost purple. Crystal clear with lots and lots of thin legs. Aromas of black fruits, black cherry, black raspberry, and violets. Great nose. Full bodied with oak present. Seems like there is a bit of Merlot in it, even though the bottle states 100% Sangiovese. Dark fruit, very dry. 30+s finish. Very tasty. 89 points (10/14/2003).

1999 Fattoria Corfecciano Urbana Chianti Montespertoli Riserva

$21CAD

From the new (1997) DOCG Chianti Montespertoli.

Medium ruby red, crystal clear. Pretty, thin legs. Aromas of cherry, raspberry coulis, and mocha. Medium-bodied, very fresh. Herbaceous with lots of cherry and earth notes. Minerals follow with raspberry replays from nose. Lingering, dry finish, ~ 30s. 88 points 10/14/2003).

The following Chianti weren't from the tasting, but I have had them recently and wanted to share them anyway.

1999 Antinori Peppoli Chianti Classico

Here's a comparison of a wine I first tasted in August of last year. I've included both my notes from Friday and the previous bottle.

Only 15 minutes air time in glass. No decanting. Deep ruby red to rim. Almost opaque. Aromas of cherries, plums, strawberries. Medium-bodied, fresh tasting. Replays from nose. Short finish, 5-10s. Fleshed out a little bit over a couple hours, but still only 85 points. (10/03/2003).

Crystal clear deep ruby colour, almost sparkling when held up to the light. Intense colour, nice legs. Nice fruit, plum and jam on the nose and mouth, medium-full bodied. Slightly hot and acidic still, will improve with time. Went great with the rare steak I had. 88 points. (8/03/2002).

Apparently I was wrong about improving. It didn't seem shut down at all. I returned the remaining bottle I had.

1997 Grevepesa Panzano Chianti Classico

$24CAD

Another Saturday dinner called for some Chianti. Served this with penne in a pancetta and mushroom cream sauce.

Crystal clear ruby red. Aromas of cherries, earth, and strawberries. Medium-full bodied with replays from nose. Fresh-tasting with a ~30 finish. Drink now. 87 points (11/08/2003).

Not quite as nice as previous showings, but not declining, either.

[Andre]

Thank you for the tasting notes.

To say the truth I enjoyed yor previous posts better where there was less formality and less by the book attitude.

Great choice of wines but none of which I would have picked for the fruits.

[futronic]

Thanks Andre. I guess the difference between the sets of notes I posted is that this was at a tasting with a bunch of Chianti, while the others just happened to be bottles I drank with dinner and jotted a few notes down afterwards. I think both are effective in describing the wine, however.