Very sharp on opening but an hour in a big decanter smoothed all problems. Very enjoyable. Seems to be very diverse opinions on whether it is starting or ending its drinking window. This was the first 2 of 12, I think that it certainly has 2 or 3 years improving to come, but ready now.
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My final bottle of this vintage and I enjoyed them all! Part of a Sangiovese night at a high end Italian restaurant in NYC. This is such a food friendly wine with a palate cleansing acidity. Thankfully, I have other vintages.
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Nez sucré au depart. Tres expressif. Developpe des arômes d anis, empyreumatique, cerise. Les odeurs sont bien définies. En bouche c est corsé, ample. Tanins encore bien presents. Longueur moyenne. Apparaît encore jeune
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This hasn't budged much since my last note in 2020. Fine. moderately dandy. Sufficient. Nonpartisan. .....S'ok and all.
Decanting for a few hours helped relax the dryyyy finish into a less Atacama salivary suck. Stayed thinner mid-palate, with a strict expansion (or rather, non-expansion) of fruit. It's not my enemy or anything, but I think I just nodded off momentarily as I was trying to listen to whatever story it struggled to tell me.
Holding for a few years here for tertiary flavors to develop would imply there were flavors waiting in the wings in the first place. Not so sure at this point if hanging fire is the answer here.
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Similar notes to my first bottle. An excellent Chianti. I would just say that more than licorice this time the aromas were of Ocean - salinity. This feature was also present on the palate. Enjoyed with involtini di vitello al sugo.
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needs a lot of air to reach its full complexity and roundness and get bold. Dark ruby at the eye, the nose breathes of ripe plums and gentle spices, the palate tells about ripe fruit basically blackberries with some tannins there. Once oxigenated, it seems still youthful with little tertiary scents developed. Still some years ahead to reach its apogee but ready to give pleasure in the baloon. In an evening full of memories "looking thru some photographs I found inside a drawer (J.B.Fountain of Sorrow, 1974)"...
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Delicious and perfect foil for gourmet neop pizzas, esp. the Ezzo pepperoni and Italian sausage. No formal TN as the decanter emptied quickly, but recall earthy, dusty, rustic mocha cherries and anise galore...aromas/flavors directionally on point with the triple 95 pt WS/JS/D reviews (yes, even JS calls it right now and then). Agree with others this easily has 5 - 10 years of life in it and will reward patience similar to the 20 yr old Felsina Berardenga CC experience, will try to hold last btl until 2028. 93-95+ potential.
Opened the bottle and left it open for an hour, then left it 30 minutes more in the glass. Great aromas of black cherries, black currants, licorice, olives. The palate is round, with more black currants and cherries and then cedar and tobacco coming out. Tannins are not overpowering anymore, so this starts to be in its drinking window. Excellent now, will revisit in 2 years. Bottle 1/4.
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Really started the shine after about two hours. Complex nose with floral, savory spice along with cherry and darker berry. Dusty but also sleek and fresh. I’ll score the next bottle.
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A fine representation of the Sangiovese grape. Medium body, rich and elegant with tongue bathing black cherry and cedar notes. Good now but this wine easily has 10 years in front of it.
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First bottle, 2 years ago, was quite nice. This one came off as more rustic, with a lot of leather, dried herb, and a little funk. Pretty different experiences, and I don’t know what to make of that.
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Translucent red and black berry, dried cranberry, cedar, forest floor, mushroom, tobacco leaf, and slight citrus rind. Medium-bodied, decent complexity (eventually), with a light and racy delivery that stays primary at times but also manages to work a decent enough amount of flavor expansion out of its core after 3-4 hours of decanted air to provide certain enjoyment.
This could use another 4-5 years to fully flesh-out. It’ll never be a powerhouse of a wine, nor an incredibly deep specimen, but instead impresses for its finesse and food-friendly demeanor. My girl liked it more than me, citing a nice cut and more biting (but not astringent) grip on the very tail. Definitely better with food. 93+ points for me. Hold until 2025 and hope the fruit stays fresh and relevant enough in the face of the acid. An enjoyable drink once it had time to air-out, if not an especially memorable one for me personally.
Antinori's Badia a Passignano has been my favorite so far of the chianti classico gran selezione wines I've tried (preferred over the 2010 Castello di Ama and the 2011 Fontodi Vigna Sorbo). Unobscured sangiovese fruit, fragrance, richness and elegance.
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I need to hold on to these but they are drinking so we’ll now. Tasting notes from January 2019 still applies, but this vintage is improving with age:
“Dark garnet. Rich almost voluptuous dark red fruits, black cherry, olive, tobacco, some licorice with some serious but balanced oak spice. An excellent Chianti that is surprisingly approachable now but is also cellar worthy.”
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I continue to enjoy this wine, and my original plan of keeping them for a few years to see how they age is out the window! They just drink too well, at this stage for me to save them! I have 1 2013 left, and just bought 6 of the 2015s.
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My 3rd bottle of this wine. A big hit at an NYC Italian restaurant, on a night of all Tuscan wines, with my wine group. Everything I like about Sangiovese was here. Food friendly, palate cleansing acidity, black cherry and cedar flavors.
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Nose captures the richly scented landscape of Tuscany. Wet, vibrant earth and scrubby roadside herbs baked in the sun. Robust and welcoming fruit soften a chill from the winds blowing down the dark hills above, rattling the windows outside Florence.
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My 2nd bottle and so much better than my first. A big hit at an NYC Italian restaurant, on a night of all Italian wines, with my wine group. This was our WOTN. Everything I like about Sangiovese was here. Food friendly, palate cleansing acidity, black cherry and cedar flavors.
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I’m a fan of this CCR, or Gran Reserva as it is called as of 2010 vintage: cedar wood, dark cherry, coffee, medium body, leather, strawberry, smooth long finish!
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March 2019, notes after a 5.5 hour decant: nice aroma of red fruit, anice, and oak. Medium body. Lots of flavor with cherry, clay, black pepper, tobacco, cured meat, bay leaf, and zesty nutmeg.
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Although this needs a LOT of air to be consumed now, it is doubtless a very charming and delicious Chianti. Denser than your usual Sangiovese-based wines, this has a spine of steel and very nice complexity, but still rough tannins. I'd hold for at least three years before pulling the cork again, when it might gain an extra one to two points. 92-93pts.
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Medium Ruby. Aromas of cedar, thyme, oregano, red cherries, cranberries, wet leather. On the palate the wine is dry with medium body, high acidity and high fine grained tannins. Palate reflects the aromas wtih fresh red fruit, herbs, and savoury notes. Finish is long and fine. This is a very good wine and can still be cellared for some time.
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Dark garnet. Rich almost voluptuous dark red fruits, black cherry, olive, tobacco, some licorice with some serious but balanced oak spice. An excellent Chianti that is surprisingly approachable now but is also cellar worthy.
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100% single-vineyard Sangiovese. Med (+) to deep ruby. Clean, developing, med (+) aromas of tart black cherry, ripe red cherry, tobacco, and subtle oak spice from 12 m. in Hungarian oak. Dry, with med (+) acidity and tannins and med alcohol (13%). Very elegantly balanced, with a silky mouthfeel, med (+) body, flavor intensity and very nice length. Cellar-worthy. WS 95 in 2018.
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appearance: deep ruby nose: pronunced intense aromas of: jaminess, prune, baked fruits, dried beries, vanilla,coffe,bread dough, raisons, cocnut, tar, tobacco developing palate: dry med + acidity med alcohol med (+) tannins med + body med + finish med + intense flavors of jaminess, prune, baked fruits, dried beries, vanilla,coffe,bread dough, tar, tobacco, savoury quality: outstanding readiness for drinking: can drink now, but has potential for further aging
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WSET course Level 3, 2nd session: Clear, deep ruby Clean, pronounced intensity, Primary/secondary/tertiary aroma (dark mature fruits, lack current, coconut, wet leaves), Developing Dry, med+ acidity, med+ tannins, med abc, med body, med+ flavour intensity, primary/secondary characteristics (dark red fruits: black cherries, black current, cranberry, oak-vanilla, bitter chocolate, earth) med+ finish B v L v I v C v Quality level: outstanding can drink now
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Popped and poured. Deep garnet colour. Lovely nose with hints of dark morello cherries, roasted almonds, salty liquorish, dry soil and gentle oak-spice. Has power and depth in abundance, but comes across as deceptively light-footed due to its impeccable balance. A true crowd-pleaser that still manages to stay true to its place of origin – impressive stuff!
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I think it is a prime example of Chianti Classico. The best I've ever tasted, and a beautiful interpretation of Sangiovese. The sour-sweet style is intact, with an earthy depth and crispness that really makes the balance pristine. Still a medium-bodied wine.
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4/8/2024 - johneagle wrote: 91 Points
Very sharp on opening but an hour in a big decanter smoothed all problems. Very enjoyable. Seems to be very diverse opinions on whether it is starting or ending its drinking window. This was the first 2 of 12, I think that it certainly has 2 or 3 years improving to come, but ready now.
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7/31/2023 - Yagil wrote: 92 Points
92+ VFM mature wines (at my home): see my previous TN
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7/6/2023 - BoxerBee wrote: 92 Points
Darker side of Sangiovese, with wild herbs and sweet spice from the oak. Relatively complex, but the (dark) fruit is a little drying. Drink now.
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5/7/2023 - SMHalps Likes this wine: 93 Points
My final bottle of this vintage and I enjoyed them all! Part of a Sangiovese night at a high end Italian restaurant in NYC. This is such a food friendly wine with a palate cleansing acidity. Thankfully, I have other vintages.
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2/16/2023 - Renevin Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nez sucré au depart. Tres expressif. Developpe des arômes d anis, empyreumatique, cerise. Les odeurs sont bien définies. En bouche c est corsé, ample. Tanins encore bien presents. Longueur moyenne. Apparaît encore jeune
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2/5/2023 - csimm wrote:
This hasn't budged much since my last note in 2020. Fine. moderately dandy. Sufficient. Nonpartisan. .....S'ok and all.
Decanting for a few hours helped relax the dryyyy finish into a less Atacama salivary suck. Stayed thinner mid-palate, with a strict expansion (or rather, non-expansion) of fruit. It's not my enemy or anything, but I think I just nodded off momentarily as I was trying to listen to whatever story it struggled to tell me.
Holding for a few years here for tertiary flavors to develop would imply there were flavors waiting in the wings in the first place. Not so sure at this point if hanging fire is the answer here.
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12/7/2022 - Winiac wrote: 87 Points
Well balanced but thin and short.
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1/9/2022 - Condrieu82 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Similar notes to my first bottle. An excellent Chianti. I would just say that more than licorice this time the aromas were of Ocean - salinity. This feature was also present on the palate. Enjoyed with involtini di vitello al sugo.
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12/3/2021 - johnnyo wrote: 93 Points
Same as last notes
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11/2/2021 - olracx62 Likes this wine: 93 Points
needs a lot of air to reach its full complexity and roundness and get bold. Dark ruby at the eye, the nose breathes of ripe plums and gentle spices, the palate tells about ripe fruit basically blackberries with some tannins there. Once oxigenated, it seems still youthful with little tertiary scents developed. Still some years ahead to reach its apogee but ready to give pleasure in the baloon. In an evening full of memories "looking thru some photographs I found inside a drawer (J.B.Fountain of Sorrow, 1974)"...
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10/27/2021 - Laz4wine Likes this wine: 94 Points
Delicious and perfect foil for gourmet neop pizzas, esp. the Ezzo pepperoni and Italian sausage. No formal TN as the decanter emptied quickly, but recall earthy, dusty, rustic mocha cherries and anise galore...aromas/flavors directionally on point with the triple 95 pt WS/JS/D reviews (yes, even JS calls it right now and then). Agree with others this easily has 5 - 10 years of life in it and will reward patience similar to the 20 yr old Felsina Berardenga CC experience, will try to hold last btl until 2028. 93-95+ potential.
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10/10/2021 - alamoave Likes this wine: 91 Points
Delicious. Drink NOW! Will go downhill soon.
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8/31/2021 - Condrieu82 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opened the bottle and left it open for an hour, then left it 30 minutes more in the glass. Great aromas of black cherries, black currants, licorice, olives. The palate is round, with more black currants and cherries and then cedar and tobacco coming out. Tannins are not overpowering anymore, so this starts to be in its drinking window. Excellent now, will revisit in 2 years. Bottle 1/4.
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8/21/2021 - johnnyo wrote: 92 Points
One of the best Chianti Classico in recent memory. Rich red fruit with herbs and spice with ripe tannins. Very nice.
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8/17/2021 - gmbdds wrote:
Really started the shine after about two hours. Complex nose with floral, savory spice along with cherry and darker berry. Dusty but also sleek and fresh. I’ll score the next bottle.
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4/30/2021 - JurgenVin Likes this wine: 91 Points
Medium body. Rich complex fruit with some elegance. Lingering acidity. Drinking well now, but will age.
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4/7/2021 - NCWino1 Likes this wine: 94 Points
A fine representation of the Sangiovese grape. Medium body, rich and elegant with tongue bathing black cherry and cedar notes. Good now but this wine easily has 10 years in front of it.
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2/7/2021 - EMTAME wrote:
First bottle, 2 years ago, was quite nice. This one came off as more rustic, with a lot of leather, dried herb, and a little funk. Pretty different experiences, and I don’t know what to make of that.
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6/30/2020 - csimm wrote: 93 Points
Translucent red and black berry, dried cranberry, cedar, forest floor, mushroom, tobacco leaf, and slight citrus rind. Medium-bodied, decent complexity (eventually), with a light and racy delivery that stays primary at times but also manages to work a decent enough amount of flavor expansion out of its core after 3-4 hours of decanted air to provide certain enjoyment.
This could use another 4-5 years to fully flesh-out. It’ll never be a powerhouse of a wine, nor an incredibly deep specimen, but instead impresses for its finesse and food-friendly demeanor. My girl liked it more than me, citing a nice cut and more biting (but not astringent) grip on the very tail. Definitely better with food. 93+ points for me. Hold until 2025 and hope the fruit stays fresh and relevant enough in the face of the acid. An enjoyable drink once it had time to air-out, if not an especially memorable one for me personally.
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5/4/2020 - R Z Likes this wine: 94 Points
Antinori's Badia a Passignano has been my favorite so far of the chianti classico gran selezione wines I've tried (preferred over the 2010 Castello di Ama and the 2011 Fontodi Vigna Sorbo). Unobscured sangiovese fruit, fragrance, richness and elegance.
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10/21/2019 - StainedGlass Likes this wine: 91 Points
I need to hold on to these but they are drinking so we’ll now. Tasting notes from January 2019 still applies, but this vintage is improving with age:
“Dark garnet. Rich almost voluptuous dark red fruits, black cherry, olive, tobacco, some licorice with some serious but balanced oak spice. An excellent Chianti that is surprisingly approachable now but is also cellar worthy.”
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10/16/2019 - Pebben wrote: 93 Points
Consistent with previous note.
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9/18/2019 - SMHalps Likes this wine: 93 Points
I continue to enjoy this wine, and my original plan of keeping them for a few years to see how they age is out the window! They just drink too well, at this stage for me to save them! I have 1 2013 left, and just bought 6 of the 2015s.
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7/3/2019 - SMHalps Likes this wine: 93 Points
I bought 6 of these to hold and see how they age, but I've now had 4 of them in a 2 month period! I really like this wine. Had it with NYC pizza.
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6/27/2019 - alamoave Likes this wine: 92 Points
Not many chiantis are as good or better than this, and it should drink well for at least a decade.
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6/26/2019 - SMHalps Likes this wine: 93 Points
My 3rd bottle of this wine. A big hit at an NYC Italian restaurant, on a night of all Tuscan wines, with my wine group. Everything I like about Sangiovese was here. Food friendly, palate cleansing acidity, black cherry and cedar flavors.
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5/23/2019 - apward wrote: 94 Points
Nose captures the richly scented landscape of Tuscany. Wet, vibrant earth and scrubby roadside herbs baked in the sun. Robust and welcoming fruit soften a chill from the winds blowing down the dark hills above, rattling the windows outside Florence.
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5/1/2019 - SMHalps Likes this wine: 93 Points
My 2nd bottle and so much better than my first. A big hit at an NYC Italian restaurant, on a night of all Italian wines, with my wine group. This was our WOTN. Everything I like about Sangiovese was here. Food friendly, palate cleansing acidity, black cherry and cedar flavors.
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4/20/2019 - Mark van Delft Likes this wine: 92 Points
I’m a fan of this CCR, or Gran Reserva as it is called as of 2010 vintage: cedar wood, dark cherry, coffee, medium body, leather, strawberry, smooth long finish!
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3/15/2019 - CabinConnoisseur Likes this wine: 92 Points
March 2019, notes after a 5.5 hour decant: nice aroma of red fruit, anice, and oak. Medium body. Lots of flavor with cherry, clay, black pepper, tobacco, cured meat, bay leaf, and zesty nutmeg.
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3/4/2019 - br_winelover wrote: 93 Points
Although this needs a LOT of air to be consumed now, it is doubtless a very charming and delicious Chianti. Denser than your usual Sangiovese-based wines, this has a spine of steel and very nice complexity, but still rough tannins. I'd hold for at least three years before pulling the cork again, when it might gain an extra one to two points. 92-93pts.
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2/24/2019 - dbay Likes this wine: 91 Points
Medium Ruby. Aromas of cedar, thyme, oregano, red cherries, cranberries, wet leather. On the palate the wine is dry with medium body, high acidity and high fine grained tannins. Palate reflects the aromas wtih fresh red fruit, herbs, and savoury notes. Finish is long and fine. This is a very good wine and can still be cellared for some time.
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2/17/2019 - vancouvermatt wrote: 92 Points
Tobacco, wet leaves, earth and olive notes. Savory, medium bodied, round with dense tannins and long finish. Lots of cellaring potential.
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1/31/2019 - Bellbx Likes this wine: 92 Points
Leather. Tobacco. Cherry. Wet rocks. Nice Chianti for the price point. Very drinkable. Could store longer.
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1/27/2019 - StainedGlass Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dark garnet. Rich almost voluptuous dark red fruits, black cherry, olive, tobacco, some licorice with some serious but balanced oak spice. An excellent Chianti that is surprisingly approachable now but is also cellar worthy.
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1/27/2019 - Ambo1109 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Enjoyable, balanced. Vibrant color and dark red fruit notes
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10/15/2018 - TannicBeast Likes this wine: 93 Points
100% single-vineyard Sangiovese. Med (+) to deep ruby. Clean, developing, med (+) aromas of tart black cherry, ripe red cherry, tobacco, and subtle oak spice from 12 m. in Hungarian oak. Dry, with med (+) acidity and tannins and med alcohol (13%). Very elegantly balanced, with a silky mouthfeel, med (+) body, flavor intensity and very nice length. Cellar-worthy. WS 95 in 2018.
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10/14/2018 - sshayfin Likes this wine: 93 Points
appearance: deep ruby
nose: pronunced intense aromas of: jaminess, prune, baked fruits, dried beries, vanilla,coffe,bread dough, raisons, cocnut, tar, tobacco
developing
palate:
dry
med + acidity
med alcohol
med (+) tannins
med + body
med + finish
med + intense flavors of jaminess, prune, baked fruits, dried beries, vanilla,coffe,bread dough, tar, tobacco, savoury
quality: outstanding
readiness for drinking: can drink now, but has potential for further aging
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10/14/2018 - Yagil wrote: 92 Points
WSET course Level 3, 2nd session: Clear, deep ruby
Clean, pronounced intensity, Primary/secondary/tertiary aroma (dark mature fruits, lack current, coconut, wet leaves), Developing
Dry, med+ acidity, med+ tannins, med abc, med body, med+ flavour intensity, primary/secondary characteristics (dark red fruits: black cherries, black current, cranberry, oak-vanilla, bitter chocolate, earth) med+ finish
B v
L v
I v
C v
Quality level: outstanding
can drink now
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9/8/2018 - Pebben wrote: 93 Points
Popped and poured. Deep garnet colour. Lovely nose with hints of dark morello cherries, roasted almonds, salty liquorish, dry soil and gentle oak-spice. Has power and depth in abundance, but comes across as deceptively light-footed due to its impeccable balance. A true crowd-pleaser that still manages to stay true to its place of origin – impressive stuff!
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5/6/2018 - Christian Rognes Likes this wine: 96 Points
I think it is a prime example of Chianti Classico. The best I've ever tasted, and a beautiful interpretation of Sangiovese. The sour-sweet style is intact, with an earthy depth and crispness that really makes the balance pristine. Still a medium-bodied wine.
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