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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 89.1 pts. and median of 90 pts. in 234 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by poste244 on 7/15/2023 & rated 92 points: Les deux bouteilles ouvertes hier soir étaient dans une forme splendide. Beau rouge grenat à peine tuilé. Dépôt important au fond des bouteilles. Le nez est très invitant avec des notes boisées et fumées. La bouche est tout en fruit, sur la griotte, très expressive et complexifiée par le bois qui ajoute des nuances de café, de noix de coco. Les tanins ont fondus, mais il reste suffisamment d'acidité pour donner du relief à tout ce fruit exubérant et presque sucré. Superbe! (753 views) | | | Tasted by Doanebob on 10/20/2022 & rated 91 points: Goodbye dear friend. My last bottle. When I drank my first bottle ten years ago it was a fiery youngster full of sharp tannins. Over the years it has slowly mellowed into a softer wine, perhaps a little thin in the mid-palate, but gone are the tough tannins. Amazingly no sediment and color that makes it look much younger. Enjoyed it with a Bolognaise. (1078 views) | | | Tasted by PaulusLoZebra on 7/1/2022 & rated 92 points: This (LR8012) is consistent with previous bottles. It opens up after a short decant with a lot of aromatic and flavor complexity. It is smooth and balanced, with a medium+ body, a hint of sweetness on the mid-palate, and a nice mineral finish. Lovely. Great QPR. (1534 views) | | | Tasted by ericindc on 5/13/2022 & rated 90 points: This bottle is drinking very young. Just a hint of mature earth, leather. A touch hot, with some moderate bitter notes. Overall this was drinking well. Tannins were sticking out a bit much and were pretty drying. This was best after about 3 hours open. No rush to open this. (1833 views) | | | Tasted by DaveBoyd on 12/17/2021: I left this bottle too long it should have been drank 5 years ago😪 (2150 views) | | | Tasted by jkoenen on 12/4/2021 & rated 92 points: Best bottle from this case. Some others seemed a tad mature and tired.
Drank great with saffron risotto and capriolo nel chianti... :) (1772 views) | | | Tasted by cbforever1 on 8/7/2021 & rated 92 points: Adding an extra point this time, the wine seems immortal, much younger than it should show (1793 views) | | | Tasted by jkoenen on 5/25/2021 & rated 90 points: Subdued nose. Underbrush, brown spice, balsamic hints, fresh acidity. Rusty iron notes are starting to emerge, so drink sooner rather than later. (1582 views) | | | Tasted by Outplaying on 4/18/2021: This is drinking well, but with plenty of life ahead of it. Light tobacco and leather accent the earthy mixed red and darker fruit. There is quite a bit of structure here. I liked this more than the 2016 we drank with it. The 16 has a lot of potential, but is as you would expect, more primary and simple. (1676 views) | | | Tasted by PaulusLoZebra on 4/5/2021 & rated 91 points: Another very nice bottle, this (LR 8012) is smooth, balanced, savory and sappy. Very similar to the previous bottle in August 2020, those detailed notes apply. (1389 views) | | | Tasted by PaulusLoZebra on 8/13/2020 & rated 91 points: Another delicious bottle of the 2008 Monsanto CCR. This vintage, as others have noted, needs less air than many to bring forth the wine’s aromatics, which were present right away; the wine was fully open after 35-40 minutes. On the darker side of Chianti, with dusty aromas of leather and tobacco, a lovely sweet mid-palate, great acid backbone, and a sappy, savory, long finish of minerals and fresh sliced beetroot. A very good, balanced wine with an outstanding QPR. There is some bottle and even case variation with Monsanto, but based on this bottle, and depending on your cellar, I would say that the wine is in decline and you should drink up by 2023 or so. Many Chiantis and many Monsantos are better on night two, but not this one. (1835 views) | | | Tasted by Josch48 on 5/15/2020 & rated 90 points: Dark red almost opaque color with a slight rim of brick orange at the rim (I have always liked to let the older wines “relax” in the glass instead of decanting).
Dusty dark red and blue fruit with muted tones of allspice and nutmeg along with a hint of cocoa on the nose. Natural cellar with gradual seasonal temperature (52-64 degree F) variation, which I believe more positively influences the wine’s evolution.
Beautiful vibrant Sangiovese fruit that initially out of the bottle, dries out mid palate with little but residual barrel-imparted vanilla on the finish. Tannins are more present, in the medium-light mouthfeel, than the predominant sweet dried cherry flavor with a contributory acidity that lifts the fruit to the roof of the mouth. We will have grilled steak shortly and I expect the wine to reveal more of its secrets. To be continued.
With dinner the fruit became more expansive and darkly sweeter with the same mouthfeel, but with a longer tail of fruit throughout the three phases of the palate, and still gratifyingly earthy on the finish. (1721 views) | | | Tasted by cbforever1 on 3/26/2020 & rated 91 points: Showing good (1033 views) | | | Tasted by nectar14 on 10/14/2019: Good stuff here. Nicely traditional, showing violet, pine, dried cherry. Structure is firm and this ought to age nicely over the next decade. I'd suggest waiting to drink; it really did gain complexity on the 2nd day. (2066 views) | | | Tasted by jayrod on 2/16/2019 & rated 91 points: Very nice bottle, had with lamb chops with a dill sauce.....good match.
My wine was also properly stored...FYi
I agree with 8/24/2018 - PAULUSLOZEBRA notes:
This wine comes from a cellar with very good conditions but with deliberate and substantial seasonal fluctuations, so that wines will age a bit faster than in "perfect" cellars at constant temperature and humidity. My sense is that this bottle shows the beginning of the wine's decline. That says more about the vintage 2008 than about Monsanto. This bottle still has a great, great fragrance profile of sweet cherries and hints of tobacco, raw meat and dark spices. And it still has excellent balance and integration among the acid, tannin and extract. But it has begun to lose something in the mid-palate. I recommend a 30 minute decant and that the wine be served slightly on the cool side. If you have a perfect cellar then drink to 2025, otherwise drink to 2022. (2390 views) | | | Tasted by PaulusLoZebra on 12/27/2018 & rated 93 points: At ten years of age this is the best bottle I've had of this wine. Darker than a typical Monsanto, with a big aromatic profile of dark, sweet fruits, black pepper and rosemary; firm acid backbone; big, silky tannins; excellent balance; long finish with dry mineral notes and a hint of residual sweetness. Drink to 2030. (2411 views) | | | Tasted by PaulusLoZebra on 8/24/2018 & rated 91 points: This wine comes from a cellar with very good conditions but with deliberate and substantial seasonal fluctuations, so that wines will age a bit faster than in "perfect" cellars at constant temperature and humidity. My sense is that this bottle shows the beginning of the wine's decline. That says more about the vintage 2008 than about Monsanto. This bottle still has a great, great fragrance profile of sweet cherries and hints of tobacco, raw meat and dark spices. And it still has excellent balance and integration among the acid, tannin and extract. But it has begun to lose something in the mid-palate. I recommend a 30 minute decant and that the wine be served slightly on the cool side. If you have a perfect cellar then drink to 2025, otherwise drink to 2022. (2230 views) | | | Tasted by Jimswinecellar on 6/22/2018: corked. On a positive note, I was able to demonstrate to my non-wine drinking sister why we always smell the cork before drinking. (2513 views) | | | Tasted by EhrlichDY on 4/8/2018: Another good bottle and wish a had more of these as I only gave one left. Great balance of acid, tannin, and fruit. Tannins are now softened leaving a silky texture. (2545 views) | | | Tasted by PaulusLoZebra on 2/21/2018 & rated 92 points: This needed 45 minutes after decanting to show itself, as a pop n pour it is wasted. Another very good bottle, this wine is all about balance, silkiness, and a harmonious integration of the aromatics, flavors, acid and tannin. Excellent with a variety of dishes. (2151 views) | | | Tasted by PaulusLoZebra on 8/25/2017 & rated 92 points: Another fine bottle, I have five left from this vintage of 24. Consistent with my notes from six months ago, this needed 45 minutes to show fully, and is subtle, persistent and understated, with firm acidity and tannin underpinning sweet and sour cherries, pepper, red meat, and a long mineral finish. Medium bodied, with a nice residual sweetness on the finish. As with previous bottles, it has more complex and interesting flavors than fragrances, where it is a bit simple, particularly on night two. Overall, a very good food wine and QPR. (2839 views) | | | Tasted by laetulos on 5/2/2017 & rated 89 points: Still really enjoying this wine. (3174 views) | | | Tasted by mike l. on 4/2/2017 & rated 85 points: opened for a party. wasnt really my thing though it did fit the bill for old world; albeit in a very one dimensional way. (2889 views) | | | Tasted by PaulusLoZebra on 1/29/2017 & rated 92 points: Another great bottle of the 08, this one is now in its peak-drinking window, which should probably last a further 5 or 7 years. Closed at first, it needed 45 minutes of air before showing dark cherry, earth, minerals, and herbs, with hints of mint. Acid and tannin are both prominent yet balanced; medium mouth-feel and medium length. Hit its aromatic peak at about 2 hours. Finished the bottle after 24 hours, and while the aromas were less prominent the flavors were even more pronounced, the wine seemed richer (and darker!?). Great stuff. (2850 views) | | | Tasted by Guy Des Rosiers on 1/4/2017 & rated 86 points: Medium-intense, promising nose of dark cherry, plum, iron, vanilla, espresso beans, and a hint of printer's ink. Medium-bodied, with bracing acidity and few unresolved tannins. The primary fruit comes through on the palate, though the effect is a bit muted compared to the wonderful nose. The length is medium, and there is a bit of leafiness on the finish. Overall a solid effort, offering very good value. (2848 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By David Lawrason
WineAlign (1/3/2013)
(Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Szabo, MS
WineAlign (12/27/2012)
(Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Ian D'Agata
Vinous, July/August 2012, IWC Issue #163
(Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva) Subscribe to see review text. | By Ian D'Agata
Vinous, July/August 2012, IWC Issue #163
(Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva 50ario) Subscribe to see review text. | By Walter Speller
JancisRobinson.com (6/30/2012)
(Castello di Monsanto, Cinquantenario Riserva Chianti Classico Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Tuscany 2009 and 2010: A World of Opposites (Jun 2012)
(Castello Di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva Cinquantennario) Subscribe to see review text. | By Walter Speller
JancisRobinson.com (2/20/2012)
(Castello di Monsanto, Riserva Chianti Classico Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Focus on Tuscany: The 2009s and 2008s (Aug 2011)
(Castello Di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of WineAlign and Vinous and JancisRobinson.com. (manage subscription channels) |
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