Bought at auction. Cork was in great shape. 20 minute decant, lovely nose, great bottle of chianti that i picked up for a song. On the lookout for more.
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Sweet cherry, grippy tannin, blood/iodine. A very solid wine and shows good complexity for the price. Failed to consult my previous note and thought it probably needed to be drunk, but it definitely didn’t. Last bottle unfortunately.
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This is a terrific CCR! Love this wine. This will hold for several more years. Floral aromas, sappy, dusty on the nose. Sweet cherry fruit. Balanced nicely by the acids and tannins. Medium bodied. Long finish. I only have one more left.
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Dense and structured, with dark chocolate, cherries, iron filings, tangy acidity and grippy tannin. Seems quite youthful at 13. Better with some air. Can drink now for sure, but holding seems a better option.
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This is in a fantastic place right now. Bold sour cherry fruit, rich on the mid palate with plenty of grip via acids and tannins. Long finish. Glad I have a few left!
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My bottle was not quite as stellar as those recently described by other CTers. Nevertheless, it was well balanced, flavorful (clearly Italian), and generally very enjoyable with pasta with a red sauce -- what else :-)?
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Greatly benefited from decanting (aeration), the wine was free of sediment. Youthful color despite the 10 years of age. Aroma - black cherry, baking spice. Flavor follows the nose. Finish medium and restrained. Excellent balance with the body.
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Red cherry, currant and a bit of earth in the nose. Good balance of acid and ripe tannins. Flavors of red fruit, earth and a bit of stone. Good Chianti flavors. Exceeded my expectations and is sitting in a very nice spot right now. Last bottle found hidden in the cellar.
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This wine is just starting to take on a bit of brown with its vibrant red color. Gorgeous aroma of pure cherry and menthol. This wine is fantastic. Pure cherry flavors with grip and a long finish. The Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva drinks well with air on release and really ages beautifully. I have 3 more of these left. It will be interesting to continue to follow the wines evolution.
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Very nice Chianti drinking very well. Bright, just the right amount of ripe fruit coming through with nice acidity making for a nice finish. They made this one just fine for the price point and I an impressed with the value here. Some wines you open up and the next day drink poorly...not here...this wine was singing on day 2 and 3. I would say this wine has the ability to go another 3-5 years but why wait....I wish I had more.
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Day 1--popped and poured; very,very tight and showing little. days 2 & 3--much better; red cherry sangio fruit with abundant earth; tannins still very firm; medium weight; what I typcially expect of a good CCR. Looking forward--leave remainining obttle for a year or 2 (or alt least give it a long decanting).
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Medium red, transparent. Muted nose of tuscan brush with a hint of hidden cherry fruit. This is a big wine with firm tannins. I need to remember to hold the rest of these for another 3 years plus. Really delicious and complex. Classic Sangiovese. Dark cherry fruit, damp earth, bright acids. Long finish.
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Dark cherry and leather notes on the nose along with some kirsch, floral and even some hints of hard candy. Nice mid weight palate with dark cherry. Tannins still have a little grip on the finish. Nice with a good amount of life left.
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Ruby red color with red fruit, spice, and light cedar notes. I'm also getting a bit of minerality coming through. Nice acidity. A little chewy with a medium long finish. Very nice and enjoyable. I don't tend to hold on to these for too long and think this is drinking great right now.
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Still on the young side. Reticent nose, dense dark cherry palate with hints of raspberry and cedar and minerals. Good length. Decanting opened it nicely. Better length and nice cherry vanilla notes that linger with hints of mineral.
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Much better than first bottle which was clearly defective in comparison - opened up after 2 hours in decanter - earthy, red/black cherry nose, no bretty funk this time. Medium bodied, balanced on the palate with darker cherry, decent length on the finish with cherry, earth and tobacco/leather.
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Looks great. Medium red, transparent at the rim. Smells a bit tight, with damp earth and some cherry notes poking through and a hint of a bit of creosote. Tight in the mouth, leather, earth, sharp cherry notes and firm tannins. With a bit of air this wine becomes much more full and rich on the palate. This is a very good Chianti Classico Riserva that should drink well for many years to come. This is my first one and I think I'll age the others for another couple of years.
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Barnyard aromas that didn't quite dissipate after two hours of aeration - still noticeable on second day. Earthy, cherry notes on the palate but muted/closed, and some bitterness in the after taste, especially on second day. Flawed bottle? Seems to have signs of brett infection.
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Young Chianti in the Fort: This was wild and I loved it. It had the best bouquet with wild game notes and unusual aromas of frankencense, there's also a spiceness to the wine that I liked. Give this one some time in the bottle, and then enjoy. 91+ points today.
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This is serious high quality Chianti in need of time. This will benefit from cellaring until at least 2014. Could be considerably longer. Structure is all there with good tannic grip and acidic backbone. With considerable air it turns characteristically earthy with dark cherry peeking through. Serious stuff. Don't be quick to judge.
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After being up in BC and surrounded by a wealth of mediocre local wine, it was nice to get back home and pop something great with the pizza we picked up on the way back from the airport. The last time we had this was about 4 and a half months ago and this bottle showed a little more earth then the previous bottle but the rest was all in line with what we had before and it really went down quick. I don't know if it was just the fact that we were craving something decent or if the wine was showing so much better but whatever it was, we enjoyed it. Oh, and a great QPR at around $20.
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nose: very earth driven and traditional with soft cherry, plum, slight floral tones, and manure fertilizer. Taste: very smooth attack of plums, earth, floral tones, and a dark cherry backbone. A very good wine that is very enjoyable and can age a bit. It was in the decanter over night and opened up beautifully and brings a great mid palate and pleasant finish.
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initially some fresh rose and crushed berry aromas, dark cherry and earth across the mid-palate and a cherry finish, with an hour of decanting the edges become very smooth, great acidity, everything is in balance well, with more time, there is a sense of classic sangiovese flavors of leather, tobacco and dried cherries, pleasant bitter notes on the finish, perfect with Bolognese, although the cayenne pepper overpowered the wine, overall a dark, soulful wine with classic style, decant
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Completely transformed with a couple of hours of air. At first, very rustic - mostly earth and tobacco. Those flavors moved to the background as it mellowed out. Not much identifiable fruit, but the sweet vanilla and fudge tastes came out. I think I would have liked this better if there had been some sort of in between stage. Regardless, was pretty good and an adventure.
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Very expressive on the nose with cranberry, sandalwood, vanilla and sweet licorice. Followed by flavors of slightly tart cherries and a bit of a herbacious and barnyard aftertaste (in a good way). Great structure and nice long finish.
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I thought this was a very well made wine, if not quite the stuffing of some of the other 04 Riservas. Darker fruits, typical of Monsanto. On the palate, excellent concentration with appropriate acidic balance. The big surprise was two nights later when the wine really started to open and gain some depth on the palate, with the blacker fruits gaining more notes of red fruit and cigar box and a surprisingly long finish. I wonder whether other posters didn't give this wine the time. On a closeout price of around $19.00, a killer of a value !!!!
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Decent wine for spaghetti. You can put a candle in the bottle when you're done and let the wax drip down all over it, which kind of adds to the appeal.
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I've been curious about this wine for a while so thankfully I got to try a bottle last night with dinner and I think that for the price, this is a pretty good wine. Lots of dense, rich, fruit flavors with good acidity depth. I've had a few better Chianti Riserva's but those were all probably around 2x the price of this one so that makes this even more appealing to me. These are such nice, food friendly, wines and it surprises me that I have so few Italian wines like this in my cellar, especially considering that I love Italian food. I'll certainly pick up a few of these soon.
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New Year's Weekend @ Rob & Lisa's; 1/1/2009-1/4/2009 (Scott's Valley, CA): Knowing that the 04 vintage was pretty decent out in Chianti, I was thinking that this would be much better than the 05 that I picked up a week or so ago. This showed very similar to that one, but I did find it to be a little more soft and approachable. This also paired really nicely with the homemade minestrone soup that we had for dinner. I really love the blend of mushroom, earth, ripe cherries, and cranberries that show on the nose of this wine. Excellent QPR in this wine, and I will be definitely picking up some more.
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Nice Sangiovese character, lots of dry cherry, notes of herbs and tobacco, good acidity and pretty soft tannins. Really nice with food, although the fruit is quite sweet, it drys out a little without food.
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Decent bottle. Loved the dark scarlet color and it went very well w/ our pasta w/ itallian sausage. Better after it opened up for an hour or so. I think we'll leave the rest in the cellar for a couple of years to allow it to open up and mellow a bit.
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With spaghetti. Decanted for 30 minutes. Brick red color. Its nose was rather closed with sour cherries on the nose and the palate and a bunch of acidity. A little dark chocolate peaked through later. Fine wine, but I didn't love it.
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Nice midweight Sangiovese, enough acidity to balance the cherry fruit, a little leather. On day 2 more of a dried cherry edge, with some soil aromas. Quite good if not great.
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Pretty good bottle of CC. The nose came with sweet cherry, ceder, mineral and earthy characters. Good balance in the month with cherry, wood, and mineral with a slight bitter tannin on the finish. Good acidity on the first night, but the tannin smooth out on the second night and the fruit came more forward. Prefer 1st night slightly better. Soild QPR overall.
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Initial Color: This wine has a stunning dark ruby clarity - clearly not overextracted. Initial nose: Cedar, graphite, wet slate, mineral, and dark fudge lay the foundation for light sour cherry and a hint of spice which sit on top. Pleasant. Initial palate: Acidic sour cherry dominates, tomato juice-like/raspberry-like acidity with some red and black pepper speckled within in the background. Dark fudge present as well Ever so slightly too hot, but nice complexity overall. The acidity of this wine could cut clear through any red sauce you throw at it. Mild tannins. Initial finish: The acidity softens up and the wine rounds itself out, leaving the mouth feeling cleansed; not bone dry, but does have some dryness to it. The finish evolves over 20-30 seconds to leave you wanting another sip.
1 hour decant - Color: The color has interestingly shifted, having darker purple components added, while it is still clear, as it caught air for an hour. Nose: The dark fudge has made itself more obvious on the nose, and the sour cherry has rounded itself out and is no longer astringent at all. Great improvement. Palate: The acidity of the sour cherry has rounded out, and the wine has picked up a fuller body. It no longer has the tomato juice/raspberry components in spades like it did before, and the spices and dark fudge are more in front than they were before. The fine tannins that were around before are now smooth as silk. Finish: Spice and bitter chocolate tastes stay in the mouth over a long finish as the wine evolves well.
A fantastic bottle. Would buy again. May benefit from a couple years in the cellar, but really I think it will stay right about where it's at right now. I would echo strongly the sentiments of everyone else in that this wine flies high after an hour of decanting (or 3-4 in bottle). 90+
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I agree with most of the notes here = this was a good bottle of Chianti. I consumed over 2 days and it seemed a bit better the second day. Very nice nose of dark cherries, earth, violets and oak. Solid flavor profile with the fruit and acidity in good balance. Some tannins and minerals are present as well. Moderate to long finish.
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Nice solid wine at a good value. Dried cherry, vanilla oak and minerally earth come together reasonably well, and the finish is satisfying. Will consider buying again.
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Opaque ruby color. Smell was initially all earth, no fruit. With time this wine opens up into a rather pedestrian Chianti. Red cherry whose brightness is blunted by lots of earth. Really brightens up quickly with exposure to air. Add me to the chorus of posters saying decant this wine for an hour or two. Notes of vanilla and a hint of mint. Good minerality on the finish. Texture is thin but leathery. Simple but pleasant. Much worse the next day. Drink now.
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This wine took about an hour to really open up. After that, sturdy flavors of red and black fruits, leather and spice were dominant through the midpalate. Finish was fairly balanced. Enjoyable overall and a decent value.
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Rare to have so many in agreement (in my experience), but it really does need to be decanted for an hour. Not much to add to those below except that this is a great cooking (bolognese) wine.
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Good wine, but slightly strong tannins. Got better after being open for a while. Very drinkable, but not up there with the 2003 that we had a week later.
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a night of brunellos (My house): nose: a bit tight on the nose, even with it being decanted for a good 90 minutes and some good swirling this wasn't giving off much. Was able to get some plum, earth, cherry, and floral notes
taste: nice and soft with cherry, earth, and floral tones
overall: a very nice and full bodied chianti. Has good structure and a nice lasting finish, this one will probably be better in two or three years
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Decanted. Fruity with mild tannin. Odd slightly unpleasant mineral after taste developed after about 10 minutes. This disappeared after about 30 minutes. Marian liked this wine as soon as she tried it. This wine probably needs at least 1 hour of decanting, perhaps more.
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Three Value Italians on a Random Monday Night: 90% Sangiovese, 10% Canaiolo and Colorino. Aged 20 months in used oak barriques. Opened last night and re-corked and re-cellared. Cherry juice-like color that's completely translucent yet dark. Nose is dusty, earthy, with cherry, plum, bitter chocolate and some oak. Big footprint on the palate with loads of sour cherry and earth. Has good sweetness of fruit while being completely dry, and ample acidity. Dark chocolate on the finish with a hint of bitterness. Very structured wine that will probably need a few years to fully integrate the structure, acid, and oak. Right now, not particularly enjoyable to drink, but it shows great promise, I believe. Clearly a wine whose price-point belies its requirement for at least 3 more years of bottle age.
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Attractive pinot-like ruby color. A little cough syrupy upon opening, but, with air, quickly opened to reveal cherry, anise, lemon and pepper flavors. Light to mid-bodied, and really food friendly. Long, peppery finish, with some medium tannic grip. This is outstanding Chianti.
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Initially a little foul aroma on the nose, but disappeared in about half an hour of air. When it was gone, it was a nicely polished wine with cherry and plum. Nicely done.
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Pleasant, muted nose of red fruit. Nice balance, lovely cherry flavor, very firm but fine tannins. Long finish, with vanilla notes coming to the forefront. Overall quite smooth and enjoyable. Drink soon.
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Popped and poured. Gorgeous ruby color, cherry fruit with no tannins; needs air, decanted. After 2 hours this wine hit the mark: soft tannins with abundance of cherry. Unlike any other Classico I've tasted.
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12/5/2021 - Jarndyce Likes this wine: 92 Points
Bought at auction. Cork was in great shape. 20 minute decant, lovely nose, great bottle of chianti that i picked up for a song. On the lookout for more.
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6/16/2019 - bhouk wrote:
Sweet cherry, grippy tannin, blood/iodine. A very solid wine and shows good complexity for the price. Failed to consult my previous note and thought it probably needed to be drunk, but it definitely didn’t. Last bottle unfortunately.
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4/29/2018 - winemaker Likes this wine:
Last bottle. I felt this was very good. Easy drinker. Tannins and acids have softened. Time to drink these.
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1/30/2018 - winemaker Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is a terrific CCR! Love this wine. This will hold for several more years. Floral aromas, sappy, dusty on the nose. Sweet cherry fruit. Balanced nicely by the acids and tannins. Medium bodied. Long finish. I only have one more left.
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4/30/2017 - bhouk wrote:
Dense and structured, with dark chocolate, cherries, iron filings, tangy acidity and grippy tannin. Seems quite youthful at 13. Better with some air. Can drink now for sure, but holding seems a better option.
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9/10/2015 - winemaker Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is in a fantastic place right now. Bold sour cherry fruit, rich on the mid palate with plenty of grip via acids and tannins. Long finish. Glad I have a few left!
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2/17/2015 - John Nezlek wrote: 89 Points
My bottle was not quite as stellar as those recently described by other CTers. Nevertheless, it was well balanced, flavorful (clearly Italian), and generally very enjoyable with pasta with a red sauce -- what else :-)?
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11/1/2014 - JSOL Likes this wine: 95 Points
Almost perfect Sangiovese. Perfectly aged and perfectly balanced. Complex, lengthy and racy. Not heavy for a riserva. Very nice indeed.
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10/13/2014 - grizzlymarmot wrote: 93 Points
Greatly benefited from decanting (aeration), the wine was free of sediment. Youthful color despite the 10 years of age. Aroma - black cherry, baking spice. Flavor follows the nose. Finish medium and restrained. Excellent balance with the body.
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8/30/2014 - dbormolini wrote: 84 Points
Good but definitely at end of life
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1/10/2014 - CPA_SLP wrote: 91 Points
Nose- earthy, flagstone, dark berries
Taste- dark berries, chocolate, earthy, minerality, dry finish
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3/15/2013 - plitton wrote: 89 Points
Lovely earth. A little too tannic but still enjoyable. Best with food.
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12/29/2012 - h2o Likes this wine: 90 Points
with duck confit
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11/20/2012 - mcsac67 wrote: 87 Points
Red cherry, currant and a bit of earth in the nose. Good balance of acid and ripe tannins. Flavors of red fruit, earth and a bit of stone. Good Chianti flavors. Exceeded my expectations and is sitting in a very nice spot right now. Last bottle found hidden in the cellar.
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10/16/2012 - winemaker wrote: 92 Points
This wine is just starting to take on a bit of brown with its vibrant red color. Gorgeous aroma of pure cherry and menthol. This wine is fantastic. Pure cherry flavors with grip and a long finish. The Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva drinks well with air on release and really ages beautifully. I have 3 more of these left. It will be interesting to continue to follow the wines evolution.
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9/21/2012 - Armando B wrote: 91 Points
Wonderful bottle. Red fruit, leather, earth. Great texture with slightly grippy tannins. Nice acid. Super QPR for $18. Wish I had bought more.
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8/18/2012 - gromi wrote: 91 Points
Drinking very smooth right now. Paired with a vegi pizza and it went nice.
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11/26/2011 - wine4me2 wrote: 90 Points
Very nice Chianti drinking very well. Bright, just the right amount of ripe fruit coming through with nice acidity making for a nice finish. They made this one just fine for the price point and I an impressed with the value here. Some wines you open up and the next day drink poorly...not here...this wine was singing on day 2 and 3. I would say this wine has the ability to go another 3-5 years but why wait....I wish I had more.
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7/26/2011 - Armando B wrote: 89 Points
Day 1--popped and poured; very,very tight and showing little. days 2 & 3--much better; red cherry sangio fruit with abundant earth; tannins still very firm; medium weight; what I typcially expect of a good CCR. Looking forward--leave remainining obttle for a year or 2 (or alt least give it a long decanting).
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6/18/2011 - winemaker wrote: 92 Points
Medium red, transparent. Muted nose of tuscan brush with a hint of hidden cherry fruit. This is a big wine with firm tannins. I need to remember to hold the rest of these for another 3 years plus. Really delicious and complex. Classic Sangiovese. Dark cherry fruit, damp earth, bright acids. Long finish.
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5/21/2011 - CCestaro wrote: 90 Points
Dark cherry, cedar, and spice nose.....a raisin and cherry palate....with some nice mouthfeel....wine drinking fine...solid chianti
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2/16/2011 - photonwine wrote: 90 Points
Dark cherry and leather notes on the nose along with some kirsch, floral and even some hints of hard candy. Nice mid weight palate with dark cherry. Tannins still have a little grip on the finish. Nice with a good amount of life left.
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10/25/2010 - schliecker wrote: 90 Points
Ruby red color with red fruit, spice, and light cedar notes. I'm also getting a bit of minerality coming through. Nice acidity. A little chewy with a medium long finish. Very nice and enjoyable. I don't tend to hold on to these for too long and think this is drinking great right now.
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9/29/2010 - photonwine wrote: 90 Points
Still on the young side. Reticent nose, dense dark cherry palate with hints of raspberry and cedar and minerals. Good length. Decanting opened it nicely. Better length and nice cherry vanilla notes that linger with hints of mineral.
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9/21/2010 - photonwine wrote: flawed
Corked. Still shows good intense dark cherry. Decent length but a little clipped.
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8/16/2010 - mas01950 wrote: 91 Points
Much better than first bottle which was clearly defective in comparison - opened up after 2 hours in decanter - earthy, red/black cherry nose, no bretty funk this time. Medium bodied, balanced on the palate with darker cherry, decent length on the finish with cherry, earth and tobacco/leather.
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8/8/2010 - Trenalyn14 wrote: 85 Points
Sangiovese
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8/5/2010 - winemaker wrote: 92 Points
Looks great. Medium red, transparent at the rim. Smells a bit tight, with damp earth and some cherry notes poking through and a hint of a bit of creosote. Tight in the mouth, leather, earth, sharp cherry notes and firm tannins. With a bit of air this wine becomes much more full and rich on the palate. This is a very good Chianti Classico Riserva that should drink well for many years to come. This is my first one and I think I'll age the others for another couple of years.
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2/23/2010 - mas01950 wrote: flawed
Barnyard aromas that didn't quite dissipate after two hours of aeration - still noticeable on second day. Earthy, cherry notes on the palate but muted/closed, and some bitterness in the after taste, especially on second day. Flawed bottle? Seems to have signs of brett infection.
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2/22/2010 - bluevespa wrote: 92 Points
This is a outstanding chianti that is drinking nicely now, but has a few years to go. Tuscan earth with rich friut. Classy showing.
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12/24/2009 - EMTAME wrote: 92 Points
Coming into it's window, this is a beautiful and elegant chianti with about 45 minutes in the decanter. Delicious!
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12/13/2009 - DaleW wrote:
Modest, straightforward Chianti. Moderate acidity, light tannins, cherries and a touch of vanilla. B
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11/15/2009 - Cobbster wrote: 90 Points
Light, earthy nose. Tart fruit, more cranberry than black cherry. Very nice.
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10/29/2009 - blanquito wrote: 91 Points
Young Chianti in the Fort: This was wild and I loved it. It had the best bouquet with wild game notes and unusual aromas of frankencense, there's also a spiceness to the wine that I liked. Give this one some time in the bottle, and then enjoy. 91+ points today.
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9/4/2009 - Cobbster wrote: 90 Points
Consistent with last tasting.
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8/2/2009 - MJTed wrote: 88 Points
Decent QPR. Dark plums with rustic undertones. Modestly tannic grip and credible finish.
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5/26/2009 - bwillia wrote: 92 Points
This is serious high quality Chianti in need of time. This will benefit from cellaring until at least 2014. Could be considerably longer. Structure is all there with good tannic grip and acidic backbone. With considerable air it turns characteristically earthy with dark cherry peeking through. Serious stuff. Don't be quick to judge.
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5/17/2009 - DesMarteau wrote: 87 Points
a bit moldy...old world funk mixed with tough tannins and bitter edges. Goes well with Marinara and meatballs!
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5/2/2009 - Cobbster wrote: 90 Points
Consistent with last tasting; opens up after an hour or two, be patient.
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4/18/2009 - Rob MacKay wrote:
After being up in BC and surrounded by a wealth of mediocre local wine, it was nice to get back home and pop something great with the pizza we picked up on the way back from the airport. The last time we had this was about 4 and a half months ago and this bottle showed a little more earth then the previous bottle but the rest was all in line with what we had before and it really went down quick. I don't know if it was just the fact that we were craving something decent or if the wine was showing so much better but whatever it was, we enjoyed it. Oh, and a great QPR at around $20.
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2/15/2009 - KeithAkers wrote: 89 Points
nose: very earth driven and traditional with soft cherry, plum, slight floral tones, and manure fertilizer. Taste: very smooth attack of plums, earth, floral tones, and a dark cherry backbone. A very good wine that is very enjoyable and can age a bit. It was in the decanter over night and opened up beautifully and brings a great mid palate and pleasant finish.
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2/11/2009 - whits wrote: 89 Points
initially some fresh rose and crushed berry aromas, dark cherry and earth across the mid-palate and a cherry finish, with an hour of decanting the edges become very smooth, great acidity, everything is in balance well, with more time, there is a sense of classic sangiovese flavors of leather, tobacco and dried cherries, pleasant bitter notes on the finish, perfect with Bolognese, although the cayenne pepper overpowered the wine, overall a dark, soulful wine with classic style, decant
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2/5/2009 - pablopicasso wrote: 88 Points
Completely transformed with a couple of hours of air. At first, very rustic - mostly earth and tobacco. Those flavors moved to the background as it mellowed out. Not much identifiable fruit, but the sweet vanilla and fudge tastes came out. I think I would have liked this better if there had been some sort of in between stage. Regardless, was pretty good and an adventure.
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2/1/2009 - Eric Guido wrote: 88 Points
Very expressive on the nose with cranberry, sandalwood, vanilla and sweet licorice. Followed by flavors of slightly tart cherries and a bit of a herbacious and barnyard aftertaste (in a good way). Great structure and nice long finish.
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1/24/2009 - V2 wrote: 85 Points
Honestly felt this wine was somewhat closed even after an hour decant. Almost cherry liqueur. Full-bodied, round and soft, with lots of flavor.
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1/24/2009 - baroloboy55 wrote: 90 Points
I thought this was a very well made wine, if not quite the stuffing of some of the other 04 Riservas. Darker fruits, typical of Monsanto. On the palate, excellent concentration with appropriate acidic balance. The big surprise was two nights later when the wine really started to open and gain some depth on the palate, with the blacker fruits gaining more notes of red fruit and cigar box and a surprisingly long finish. I wonder whether other posters didn't give this wine the time. On a closeout price of around $19.00, a killer of a value !!!!
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1/20/2009 - Niagara wrote: 86 Points
Decent wine for spaghetti. You can put a candle in the bottle when you're done and let the wax drip down all over it, which kind of adds to the appeal.
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1/10/2009 - Tronics wrote: 89 Points
liked this quite a bit, will buy some more
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1/4/2009 - Rob MacKay wrote: 88 Points
I've been curious about this wine for a while so thankfully I got to try a bottle last night with dinner and I think that for the price, this is a pretty good wine. Lots of dense, rich, fruit flavors with good acidity depth. I've had a few better Chianti Riserva's but those were all probably around 2x the price of this one so that makes this even more appealing to me. These are such nice, food friendly, wines and it surprises me that I have so few Italian wines like this in my cellar, especially considering that I love Italian food. I'll certainly pick up a few of these soon.
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1/4/2009 - jhannah27 wrote: 89 Points
New Year's Weekend @ Rob & Lisa's; 1/1/2009-1/4/2009 (Scott's Valley, CA): Knowing that the 04 vintage was pretty decent out in Chianti, I was thinking that this would be much better than the 05 that I picked up a week or so ago. This showed very similar to that one, but I did find it to be a little more soft and approachable. This also paired really nicely with the homemade minestrone soup that we had for dinner. I really love the blend of mushroom, earth, ripe cherries, and cranberries that show on the nose of this wine. Excellent QPR in this wine, and I will be definitely picking up some more.
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12/24/2008 - thebonnydooner wrote: 88 Points
Nice Sangiovese character, lots of dry cherry, notes of herbs and tobacco, good acidity and pretty soft tannins. Really nice with food, although the fruit is quite sweet, it drys out a little without food.
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12/9/2008 - Pinot Evil wrote: 91 Points
Tannins at first softened in about an hour, faded a bit on day 2 but very nice.
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12/8/2008 - chris@archibold.us wrote: 87 Points
Decent bottle. Loved the dark scarlet color and it went very well w/ our pasta w/ itallian sausage. Better after it opened up for an hour or so. I think we'll leave the rest in the cellar for a couple of years to allow it to open up and mellow a bit.
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10/29/2008 - gmbdds wrote: 88 Points
Decanted. Cherry, olive and tobacco notes made this a nice midweek wine with pasta.
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10/24/2008 - Domer99 wrote: 88 Points
With spaghetti. Decanted for 30 minutes. Brick red color. Its nose was rather closed with sour cherries on the nose and the palate and a bunch of acidity. A little dark chocolate peaked through later. Fine wine, but I didn't love it.
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9/22/2008 - DaleW wrote:
Nice midweight Sangiovese, enough acidity to balance the cherry fruit,
a little leather. On day 2 more of a dried cherry edge, with some soil
aromas. Quite good if not great.
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8/24/2008 - Bergman wrote: 90 Points
Very good- 2004 Chianti Classico has been consistently excellent
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8/13/2008 - CTSV157 wrote: 87 Points
Good Chianti that's still a bit early . A few more years will make it "amore"
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8/4/2008 - Hotshot162 wrote: 88 Points
Pretty good bottle of CC. The nose came with sweet cherry, ceder, mineral and earthy characters. Good balance in the month with cherry, wood, and mineral with a slight bitter tannin on the finish. Good acidity on the first night, but the tannin smooth out on the second night and the fruit came more forward. Prefer 1st night slightly better. Soild QPR overall.
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7/26/2008 - Rossodio wrote: 90 Points
Initial Color: This wine has a stunning dark ruby clarity - clearly not overextracted.
Initial nose: Cedar, graphite, wet slate, mineral, and dark fudge lay the foundation for light sour cherry and a hint of spice which sit on top. Pleasant.
Initial palate: Acidic sour cherry dominates, tomato juice-like/raspberry-like acidity with some red and black pepper speckled within in the background. Dark fudge present as well Ever so slightly too hot, but nice complexity overall. The acidity of this wine could cut clear through any red sauce you throw at it. Mild tannins.
Initial finish: The acidity softens up and the wine rounds itself out, leaving the mouth feeling cleansed; not bone dry, but does have some dryness to it. The finish evolves over 20-30 seconds to leave you wanting another sip.
1 hour decant -
Color: The color has interestingly shifted, having darker purple components added, while it is still clear, as it caught air for an hour.
Nose: The dark fudge has made itself more obvious on the nose, and the sour cherry has rounded itself out and is no longer astringent at all. Great improvement.
Palate: The acidity of the sour cherry has rounded out, and the wine has picked up a fuller body. It no longer has the tomato juice/raspberry components in spades like it did before, and the spices and dark fudge are more in front than they were before. The fine tannins that were around before are now smooth as silk.
Finish: Spice and bitter chocolate tastes stay in the mouth over a long finish as the wine evolves well.
A fantastic bottle. Would buy again. May benefit from a couple years in the cellar, but really I think it will stay right about where it's at right now. I would echo strongly the sentiments of everyone else in that this wine flies high after an hour of decanting (or 3-4 in bottle). 90+
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7/15/2008 - spyder47 wrote: 88 Points
I agree with most of the notes here = this was a good bottle of Chianti. I consumed over 2 days and it seemed a bit better the second day. Very nice nose of dark cherries, earth, violets and oak. Solid flavor profile with the fruit and acidity in good balance. Some tannins and minerals are present as well. Moderate to long finish.
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6/30/2008 - navquarter wrote: 90 Points
Deep purple in color.
Nose of dirt and cherries.
Pallet a bit think but with some depth towards the back of the mouth of caramel and ash.
Legs of rose and chocolate.
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6/16/2008 - will2wine wrote: 88 Points
Nice solid wine at a good value. Dried cherry, vanilla oak and minerally earth come together reasonably well, and the finish is satisfying. Will consider buying again.
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5/16/2008 - BYOB wrote: 88 Points
Ruby red in color, classic fulll bodied chianti that paired wel with pizza. Nice blackcherry and vanilla notes, and provide a long but subtle finish.
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5/13/2008 - rmalloy wrote: 87 Points
Opaque ruby color. Smell was initially all earth, no fruit. With time this wine opens up into a rather pedestrian Chianti. Red cherry whose brightness is blunted by lots of earth. Really brightens up quickly with exposure to air. Add me to the chorus of posters saying decant this wine for an hour or two. Notes of vanilla and a hint of mint. Good minerality on the finish. Texture is thin but leathery. Simple but pleasant. Much worse the next day. Drink now.
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5/4/2008 - 6831 wrote: 88 Points
This wine took about an hour to really open up. After that, sturdy flavors of red and black fruits, leather and spice were dominant through the midpalate. Finish was fairly balanced. Enjoyable overall and a decent value.
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5/4/2008 - gbm wrote: 88 Points
Rare to have so many in agreement (in my experience), but it really does need to be decanted for an hour. Not much to add to those below except that this is a great cooking (bolognese) wine.
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4/5/2008 - B&L wrote: 87 Points
Good wine, but slightly strong tannins. Got better after being open for a while. Very drinkable, but not up there with the 2003 that we had a week later.
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3/18/2008 - jmoskow wrote: 86 Points
Earthy, slight fruit, more earth than fruit. Super long spicy finish.
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3/15/2008 - KeithAkers wrote: 88 Points
a night of brunellos (My house): nose: a bit tight on the nose, even with it being decanted for a good 90 minutes and some good swirling this wasn't giving off much. Was able to get some plum, earth, cherry, and floral notes
taste: nice and soft with cherry, earth, and floral tones
overall: a very nice and full bodied chianti. Has good structure and a nice lasting finish, this one will probably be better in two or three years
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3/12/2008 - dthompson wrote: 89 Points
Decanted. Fruity with mild tannin. Odd slightly unpleasant mineral after taste developed after about 10 minutes. This disappeared after about 30 minutes. Marian liked this wine as soon as she tried it. This wine probably needs at least 1 hour of decanting, perhaps more.
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3/10/2008 - steffenpelz wrote:
Three Value Italians on a Random Monday Night: 90% Sangiovese, 10% Canaiolo and Colorino. Aged 20 months in used oak barriques. Opened last night and re-corked and re-cellared. Cherry juice-like color that's completely translucent yet dark. Nose is dusty, earthy, with cherry, plum, bitter chocolate and some oak. Big footprint on the palate with loads of sour cherry and earth. Has good sweetness of fruit while being completely dry, and ample acidity. Dark chocolate on the finish with a hint of bitterness. Very structured wine that will probably need a few years to fully integrate the structure, acid, and oak. Right now, not particularly enjoyable to drink, but it shows great promise, I believe. Clearly a wine whose price-point belies its requirement for at least 3 more years of bottle age.
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3/7/2008 - Cobbster wrote: 90 Points
A burst of cherry sums this up; as others have said, and my last tasting, improves with air.
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3/6/2008 - Ibetian wrote:
No formal notes, but this made a good impression for a sub $20 wine.
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2/15/2008 - AllRed wrote: 90 Points
Soft garnet color. Nice earthy dark fruit, plum and chocolate notes. Flavors of plum and dark fruit with firm tannins and a nice finish.
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2/8/2008 - jmull wrote: 90 Points
Attractive pinot-like ruby color. A little cough syrupy upon opening, but, with air, quickly opened to reveal cherry, anise, lemon and pepper flavors. Light to mid-bodied, and really food friendly. Long, peppery finish, with some medium tannic grip. This is outstanding Chianti.
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1/29/2008 - pgm wrote: 89 Points
Initially a little foul aroma on the nose, but disappeared in about half an hour of air. When it was gone, it was a nicely polished wine with cherry and plum. Nicely done.
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1/25/2008 - petitblanc wrote: 90 Points
Pleasant, muted nose of red fruit. Nice balance, lovely cherry flavor, very firm but fine tannins. Long finish, with vanilla notes coming to the forefront. Overall quite smooth and enjoyable. Drink soon.
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12/29/2007 - Cobbster wrote: 90 Points
Popped and poured. Gorgeous ruby color, cherry fruit with no tannins; needs air, decanted. After 2 hours this wine hit the mark: soft tannins with abundance of cherry. Unlike any other Classico I've tasted.
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