Tuscan Sangiovese

San Francisco
Tasted Wednesday, March 7, 2007 by 5laton with 724 views

Introduction

Our biweekly educational tasting group decided to taste some classic representations of Tuscan sangiovese.

Flight 1 - 2001 Chianti Classico (2 Notes)

  • 2001 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Chianti Classico

    Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG

    100% sangiovese, from vines 50+ years old. Double-decanted 8 hours prior to serving. Sappy red fruit, cherry on the nose. Sour cherry on palate, earth, maybe a hint of vanilla. Very tart. Quite tannic -- hard to get much else here. Needs time. For now, judgement reserved. 2nd night: saved some leftovers, and they are much more approachable now, nice sweet-sour cherry flavor, elegant, still needs time but for now ~87pts.

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  • 2001 Castello della Paneretta Chianti Classico 85 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG

    90% sangiovese, 10% canaiolo. Double-decanted 8 hours prior to serving. Nose of dark fruit, bit of floral perfume, smoke. A little VA, but it seemed to blow off with a few minutes of swirling. Nice clay, earthy mouthfeel, but a little flat in the midpalate....i get a little black cherry, plum, mineral, tart. Decent, though not a great joy to drink without food. Still a bit tannic.

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Flight 2 - 1999 Chianti Classico Riserva (plus an interloper) (4 Notes)

  • 1999 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia 92 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG

    100% sangiovese, from vines 25-50 years old. Double decanted 8 hours ahead of serving. Sweet sappy red cherry nose. Hint of aromatic herbs. This has gorgeous balance on the palate. Perfumed, sweet red fruit, dark minerality, dried herbs, hint of vanilla. Nice length with chewy tannins turning more silky with time in the glass. Easily my WOTF. Fantastic wine that is just beginning to enter its drinking window -- but while tempting to drink now, this will be even better with a couple more years in the bottle.

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  • 1999 Machiavelli Chianti Classico Riserva

    Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG

    Double-decanted 8 hours prior to serving. Nose of candied red fruit, perhaps a touch of ethyl acetate or acetone. Lower acid and fewer tannin than other wines in this flight. Pleasant and fruity, but with a strange, almost overripe character. Seems tired. No rating.

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  • 1999 Melini Chianti Classico Riserva Vigneti La Selvanella 90 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG

    100% sangiovese grosso. Double-decanted 8 hours prior to serving. Smells of dark fruit, with a sheen of oak. Definitely more international in style than the other wines in this flight. Some creamy oak on the palate that needs to integrate, but otherwise balanced, with dark fruit, nice tangy acid and chewy tannins. Decent length. Very clean, young, well-made wine, although clearly outside the classic Chianti mold. If the oak integrates this should be super.

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  • 1995 San Felice Chianti Classico Riserva Poggio Rosso Flawed

    Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG

    Disjointed nose, with red and dark fruits. Good acidity, but a bit flat or tired. Tom thought it was corked and we deferred to him since this was his bottle.

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Flight 3 - 2004 Rosso di Montalcino (2 Notes)

  • 2004 Poggiarellino Rosso di Montalcino

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino

    A touch reductive, and just tongue-numbingly tannic. This is really in an awkward place right now and is not a fun drink. Judgement reserved.

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  • 2004 Valdicava Rosso di Montalcino

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino

    The purple-magenta-pink color is the first indication something odd is going on here. A strong nose of mocha-chocolate milkshake clinches it. Candied red fruit on the palate, slathered in mocha-oak, with chocolate coated prunes (yecch) and some herbal/vegetal hints. Fruit turns darker on the very tannic finish. It's hard to resist using 'i superlativi' when you meet a wine like this, but at the moment this probably the most revolting wine i've tasted in recent memory. Abysmal score withheld. I will add however than some leftovers were retasted the following night. Choco-mocha and herbal flavors have moved to the background, revealing notes of confected strawberry, sweet cherry, prune, surmaturite, a bit disjointed with acid poking out here and there. Flavors thin out on the midpalate, with some noticeable alc. The wine tastes more like Spanish bobal than sangiovese -- no slight intended to bobal!

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Flight 4 - 1995, 1997 and 1999 Brunello di Montalcino (4 Notes)

Flight 5 - Sangiovese-based IGTs, Vino Nobile, et cetera (2 Notes)

Flight 6 - Whatevs...just having fun (3 Notes)

  • 1993 Koehler-Ruprecht Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling Spätlese 91 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    Thanks David for bringing this. Petrol, beeswax, mineral water on nose. Wonderful, nearly dry palate presence with firm acids, mouthfilling honey, baked apple, mineral, petrol and just funky aged riesling flavors. Surprisingly light on its feet, thanks to the lack of clearly discernible RS. Nice length.

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  • 1996 Bert Simon Serriger Würtzberg Riesling Spätlese 90 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    Much lighter in color than previous bottle, and indeed less advanced. Generous nose of green apple, golden fruits, wildflower honey. On the palate honey, baked apple, minerals, a bit smokey with subtly balanced RS and good length. Delicious, though lacking a bit of the delineation and wow factor compared to my previous bottle.

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  • 2002 Edmunds St. John Syrah The Shadow 87 Points

    USA, California

    Quite dark in color. Dark berries, black cherry, roasted meat on the nose. More dark fruit, plum on the palate, perhaps lacking concentration, but with some subtle savory notes, and pleasantly sharp acidity. Slightly tannic, but very approachable now with a decant. No obvious alcohol, but there is some spicy black pepper on the finish. Best of all this is BONE DRY which is pretty hard to find in California syrah these days. Not a vino da meditazione, but a well made wine and an excellent value at $10-$12.

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Closing

Note: I only assigned points to wines i had the opportunity to spend some additional time with afterwards.

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