Rather dense and dark fruited for a pure Sangiovese wine? Black cherry notes along with coffee and cedar notes. Still, nicely crated overall but the extraction and oak treatment is apparent. Wonderful wine with pizzas—really enjoyed this even is not a traditional style.
From the more ambitious era of Fontodi (new oak and some Cabernet Sauvignon, I seem to recall). The 2004 has a scarlet/magenta robe with some bricking. With the age and Cabernet presence, decanted for sediment (a wise decision, as there’s plenty of schmutz at the bottom of the bottle). The nose is finally beginning to integrate the cooperage, with hints of coffee and spice on the periphery of the dark fruits and green olive (in a good way) aromas. This is still a bit more cedar-y and cassis lead for my taste; you have to squint to find the Morello cherry and underbrush, though the ferruginous undercurrent is mercifully intact. The finish is persistent and has some lift, but the overall impression is still more bifurcated that harmonious at this point; is this a Chianti or is this a Super-Tuscan? That said, this is far more knit—and frankly enjoyable—than the last bottle I opened with herbaceous charm and fresh acidity. Enjoyed with a faux Sunday gravy of sausages and leftover pork rib ragu. (Shockingly, all my Aglianico is in storage, it turns out.) Now if you find the presence of French varieties an anathema like my former employer Jamie, this won’t be your cup of tea. If you are patient and sitting on a few bottles, another couple of years may still yield something interesting, if not sublime. Re-buy? Probably not, but I don’t know as my last couple bottles need to be shuffled off to WineBid either.
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I'll never be a huge fan of this wine but with plenty of time the oak finally starts to integrate resulting in a fairly charming palate and drink. Enjoyed the palate more than the nose. My last of 3 btls. Room for something I admire more. 86 nose / 89/90 palate.
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This wine continues to age gracefully and at a slower pace than anticipated. About three and a half years since my previous bottles of this wine (see notes 2018 12 14) and all the same attributes are there just wrapped up little better. Very enjoyable now. That said, I do not think this wine is anywhere its peak. That is likely 5 years away, maybe more.
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Opened for one hour but not decanted. Beautiful scarlet with no bricking. Effusive nose of bright red fruits. Brilliant palate with great concentration for its age. Long finish. Wish I had more. This wine is singing right now. I did not feel it was at the end of its age at all. I have had this wine since it was the current vintage and it has been in my cellar since.
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Double decanted two hours before tasting. It needed the air, and continued to get better in the glass. Elegant dried fruit on the nose. Great balance of acid, tannin, and fruit in the mouth. In a great place (with the air). No rush.
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Wow, needs some serious time to open up. The bouquet is quite intense with lots of blueberries, cherry liquor, leather and lots of umami. Medium to full bodied with brooding tannins and powerful acidity. Drinking really nice right now, but still a few years away from its peak. Should easily hold for 2 more decades.
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Pulled from cellar and let stand at room temperature (18C) for 2 days. Popped and poured and it was closed at beginning. Started to open up about an hour later (in bottle) and continued to open up more for couple of hours more before the bottle was finished. Full bodied. Tannins were strong. Excellent structure with enough stuffing to last 10 more years at least. In drinking window now but need a few hours of air time. Mild sediment at bottom of bottle.
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Lovely nose, Chinese tea and warm spices. Dark cherry to mahogany. Rich, raisins soaked in kirsch, black cherry, tobacco, old wardrobes, very smooth. Though some furry tannins on the finish if drunk on its own. Plenty acidity. Great length. Very fine indeed. Definitely drinkable now but plenty time too.
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Much better than the last bottle. Good to go after a 2 hours decant. The cabernet and the new oak are a bit distractive, and it does not taste too Chinati. A well made wine, just not my taste.
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The VA took nearly two hours to (mostly) dissipate. This version of Sorbo was back when they were adding some Cabernet Sauvignon - why I'll never know, I suppose. (Points? Fashion? both?). The nose was definitely the weak part of this equation. In addition to the CS, the 24 months in Fr. barrique really doesn't fit with anything I'm regularly drinking/admiring, either - Sangiovese-based or otherwise. The palate, however, showed solid vitality, worked well with complex food/flavors, and showed a avg+ finish. Med>Med+ body, good acidity, etc. It'll continue to evolve from here, though not sure that it can get any better. For my palate, anyway. 14,0% abv., cork and fill in vg condition. recommended
Bu au resto AVV La suite de Sherby avec les fouduvins Bulle et Meursault. Super approchable et presqu'à point. Nez sur la terre, le cuir, les fruits noirs et les épices. En bouche texture satinée, gouleyant et minéral, De la prune, du fenouil, du poivre de la terre et un pointe mentholée. C'est super souple et bien digeste. Les tanins sont fins et la finale bien longue et enveloppante. Très belle bouteille, celle-ci était pas mal
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Well made wine, but not my preferred style. Too much Cab and French oak. Outclassed tonight by the 2004 Siro Pacenti Brunello and the 2006 Mastroberardino Radici.
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Have I drank it at an adolescent phase or is it an off bottle? I don't have the Chianti experience to judge. Decanted and drank over a 6 hours period between 14.5 to 18C, the fruit seems to have subsided (the secondary flavours has yet to develop?) leave acidity and tannin. Will try another bottle in 6 months.
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Encore sur son plateau je dirais, en pleine forme. Voilà un beau CC Riserva qui en a donné dès son achat et qui continu d'en donner...payer dans les 40$ dans le temps, celui-ci est un Chianti d'exception. Superbe complexité, balsam, cerises (griottes), mures, poivre et anis avec une pointe de menthol vers la fin. Les tanins sont fins et granuleux et l'acidité présente lui donne des ailes. La finale est super longue et suave. Un vin complet, raffiné et tout simplement délicieux. SUPERBE!
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CNY Lo Hei at Alex's (Alex and Fiona's in AMK): Very good, but way, way too young. This has barely moved since I last tried it more than a decade ago. The new oak has thankfully receded, and the nose has opened up into lovely notes of dark cherries, blackberries, spice and loamy earth, but the primary tasting palate was still wrapped up in a tight robe of fine but firm tannins and deep draws of orange peel acidity. The flavours were pure and powerful, with blueberries, blackberries and powdery spice, but they clearly need a lot of time yet - this was a Monster built built for the long term. Finish was pure, clear and powerful, pulling away on the back palate with a lovely clarity wed to a real punch of fruit ringed with just a bit of spice, some leathery notes, and a lift of sweeter violet florals. Good quality stuff, but this needs a decade or two in the bottle yet.
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This wine is aging so gracefully. Forward nose of red fruit, violets and leather. It has shed its dark fruit for strawberry but has lost none of its complexity and elegance. Even more balanced than my previous bottle. Very soft ripe tannins are barely notable; long finish. Time to enjoy it.
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Superbe vin, surtout avec ma sauce bolognese ax truffes, accord divin. Nez charmeur sur l`anis, les fruits rouges et les herbes. En bouche, suave, complexe et bien équilibré. Des cerises et de la réglisse avec de beaux tannins fins et une finale hyper longueur...Excellent.
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Ouff que c`est beau ce CC...pour le prix de l`époque, c`est tout un deal...bien fait d`avoir acheté une douzaine. Super velouté et ample, corsé mais d`une belle complexité. Il y a des cerises, du poivre, des herbes et du tabac. Les tannins sont fins et la finale bien longue et voluptueuse. Excellent!
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Decanted 4 hrs. Equal bursts of wintergreen, balsamic and dark cherries on the nose, there is an excellent addition of floral aromas as well. We are in a nice space here, the red cherry Sangiovese core is nicely offset by the structural elements of acid and tannin, with a subtle suggestion of cedar throughout. Great versatility on display, I can think of many different food parings that should work nicely with this guy. Going forward, though this was my last bottle, I would be careful about extended cellaring, as I could see the acid and tannin trumping the current harmony of fruit etc.
Well, much improved over my btl of 38 months ago. PnP and slow ox for 90 minutes before dinner. Semi opaque garnet color with lighter bricking edges. Throwing lots and lots of sediment. This is now fully mature and my guess holds up for 3 more years. Holding this further might pay off but, I think its arrived and will start to decline in a few. Aromas of fading fruit, balsamic, tobacco and the wild Chianti country side. The oak has finally fully integrated and you can now taste the true character of the wine without distraction. Sour cherry, Chianti garrigue, spice and mineral. Mostly elegant and resolved. Maybe a little tannin on the finish without food. I finally enjoyed this wine sans the overpowering oak of the past! 14% alc. I haven't since and would not again, buy this oaked up cuvee. I'd only go for the straight classical. One btl left. I'll sit on it just for fun, even though, I'm not expecting improvement.
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Very nice chianti, and drinking well. Pretty smooth with lots of sour cherry fruit and lively acidity. It seemed to go downhill a bit after being open for a few hours, so this may not have a ton of years left. Should drink my remaining bottle in the next couple of years.
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Wine with friends (at Lake Michigan) (Mike and Lori's (near Shelby MI)): Great showing and this is in a great place. I think people see Chianti and don't realize what a killer wine this is until they taste it and are surprised. Pop and pour, this was young still and opened for the first hour or so. Purple in color, The nose has cherries, leather, damp tea leaves, and spice. On the palate, this is full bodied with cherry fruit and forest floor. Complex with layers of both. Great acidity. Long finish. Great with Spaghetti and home made sauce. No hurry on this but in a great place!
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Decanted for 45 minutes...needed more. Nose was quiet but opened some over time. Structure receded over time...cherry fruit evolved. It should continue to evolve for another few years.
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Super beau vin avec une belle acidité, acidité qui le rend frais et tellement un bel accord avec les plâts, un Osso Bucco dans ce cas. Quel beau vin complexe et équilibré, il commence à peine à entrer dans sa fenêtre du "Sweet Spot"! Arômes de cerises noir, d'anis et de poivre. Les tannins sont bien enrobés et la finale vraiment longue. Rien n'accroche, Excellent.
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Decanted 2 hrs. Another strong showing with lots to enjoy here, sangiovese with a slight modern edge, pronounced cedar and bright red cherry fruit. Some mid palate richness and wood tannin suggest this did see some new oak (unsure regimen here) but it has melded together pretty well. At plateau of drinking maturity and should hold for a good 5 years or so. Very good VsD, but I think i like the long term potential of the 06 a little more at this stage.
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The nose was earthy with dusty soil, leather, dried flowers and sweet herbs. On the palate, I found angular textures with gripping tannin, giving way to tart cherry and brisk acidity. Tannin coated the palate throughout the finish, drying the senses and the wine’s otherwise beautiful fruit. I hope to be wrong one day about the 2004, as on this night it seemed as if the wood tannin may outlive the fruit. At the moment, it’s a hard wine to like.
Super beau Chianti d'une grande maison, j'adore. Bouteille ouverte, décanté soigneusement lors de la mise en carafe (léger dépot fin) puis remis en bouteille épaulée pour 8 heures avant le repas (côte de veau sauce forrestière). Le nez est sublime, élégant sur des notes de fleurs, d'épices, de tabac blond avec des petites cerises et une pointe de terre. En bouche, très dense et assez ample. Cerises noires, anis, roses et poivre avec une belle acidité et des tannins bien enrobés. La finale est longue et succulente. Encore assez jeune et fringant mais déjà très bon. Du très beau Sangiovese, plusieurs on mentionné qu'ils avaient un beau Brunello dans leur verre...ça dit tout!
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Deep- mahogany to brick red rim. Stimulating bouquet of tar, licorice, crushed rocks, iron fillings and plenty of red fruits. Freshness to the wine as the rock dust and bright red cherries rise as the wine opens. Medium to full-bodied, there is a freshness to the entry helped by vibrant acidity. Powdery in texture, plenty of chalk and stone flavours, liquorice and Bing cherries. The alcohol gives richness to coat the firmer, chalky tannins that leave a gravelly texture on the back palate. Superb length, this is an expressive wine with fortitude, containing all the structural bones, bite of acidity and flesh to be a winner. Complex long and overall and excellent wine!
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With a 2 hr decant, the first taste was full of oak covering deep cherry fruit, so as this opened in the glass it was important to pair with food as this covered up the oak considerably with tomato ingrediants. In the end this was showing more fruit. Bottom line, needs more time.
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Not real excited about owning 2 more of these. Tons of vanilla when I opened it so I decanted immediately which helped quite a bit but still marred by too much oak for my liking. Especially, at ONLY, 10yrs+ in. Blind I might guess young BDX. Too bad, as underneath the burden of all the oak is some decent sangiovese begging to show its stuff. I think I tried one on release and wrote off the oak as too young. Can't see this ever being awesome for my palate. Some chewy tannins on the finish too. My wife thought it was an inexpensive wine. Paid $45 and disappointed. Only upside, this is the only vintage I own. If, you like smoky new world wine this will thrill you. This is the sort of wine they ripped in Mondovino. Hoping I like this somewhat more in a few years.
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Had this after the 2004 Flaccianello. Needed an hour+ in the decanter to show well. More modern than its sibling. Sorbo was rounder and less earthy. Still a great showing with beautiful dark fruit balanced acidity and smooth tannins. Next time I will drink the Sorbo first.
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Pulled from the cellar and popped and poured 3 hours later. Lovely deep red with some bricking at the rim. Really smells rich and cab like. Earth, cherries with some herbaceous notes. This is a delicious wine. It tastes more like sangiovese than cab which is a good thing. Tart and complex with noticeable tannins. Long finish. This a wine with power and complexity. Should hold for years.
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Fontodi vigna del sorbo 2004: ouvert vendredi midi et bu à partir de 18h carafer les 2/3 1 heure avant de le boire:
robe: belle robe rouge avec reflets pourpre. le vin ne semble pas avoir 9 ans.
très beau nez sur la cerise, le cuir, un côté épicé, et un petit côté vert.. avec un peu de thym. Le dimanche, le nez est vraiment beau, belle opulence, le cuir est bien présent et donne un peu de profondeur au nez. un aspect fines herbe est bien agréable aussi.
En bouche, on y retrouve les mêmes arômes, avec une amertume en finale. très beaux vin, encore meilleur dimanche avec le 1/3 de la bouteilles restante. Les tannins se sont assagis en 2 jours. l'ensemble est plus ouvert et harmonieux.
Je vais ouvrir l'autre bouteille dans quelques années... je vais attendre le 15 ans d'âge pour en voir l'évolution.
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I'm not a huge fan of Chianti, this one is a star. Still seems young, needed about 45 mins to open up. Was a little harsh at initial opening. Very nice drinking wine.
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Dunkles purpurrot, an der Nase schwere Brombeer-, Kirsch- und Beerennoten; Veilchen, etwas Lakritz und Kräuter; geringe oxidative Töne, deutlicher Holzanteil, viel mittelkörniges Tannin, im Abgang zehrend
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Sorbo sung last night. Not sure why I picked this bottle, as I was wanting more of a classic chianti profile than this wine offers, but glad I did as it still fit our cuisine well and was really drinking well after an hour in the decanter. While very full-bodied it was much more in a drinking window than the last bottle a couple of years ago, which surprised me. Really nice dark red fruit with tannins very much in check. Big mouthfeel. If memory serves, Manetti adds some cab to this CCR, and it really cuts the acidity edge, putting it a bit outside the norm for most CCR's we drink. Great bottle.
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80% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet; worthy of consideration for the WOTD among many wines; multi dimensional, fresh fruitiness, great complexity and length contribute to overall magnificence.
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Terroir-istes International - Italy, Chianti Classico (Rodwell House): The attractive nose displays ripe red plums, red berries and sour cherries, undergrowth, and some tertiary characteristics. A crisp, crunchy acid on entry with somewhat drying tannins and a few nutty notes? There is hotness to the wine, the alcohol protruds whilst it also feels extracted. There is dry earth, undergrowth, wood smoke and red and black fruits, yet the wine has a plush, polished feel even though, for me, it seemed a little over-ambitious and lacking charm in the process. there is a pinch of Chinese 5 spice and a vegetal feel that gave an unripe quality to the wine. A wine of contrasts, the wine felt like it had interest but all the elements were falling over each other to show themselves. Perhaps an awkward stage. Certainly, the firm tannin suggests some unripe characters, whilst the finish lacked persistence.
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deep color. wonderful nose of cherry,earth and flowers. Lots of fruit up front with spices coming ini mid-palate. Great tannin and acid. Needs a couple of years
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Forward nose of dark red fruit, black cherry, blackberry, violets and leather. Good mid palate, balanced, mineral complexity and long finish. Drinks well now but will go for a while yet. Still in the primary fruit stage. Perfect pasta wine.
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Decanted a couple of hours, first bottle of this vintage, and we were overall very pleased. Very cherry, sweet berry, and licorice on the palate along with some oak. Still, we thought it very good with great potential. Great fruit, dusty tannins, and a nice zing of sangiovese. I've always liked this CCR, and this vintage is no exception. Certainly still quite stiff and austere, but very enjoyable. Let the rest lay out for while.
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lear, medium ruby color Red and black cherry nose, Dusty red cherries, sweet blackberries through the mid-palate, finishing with strong tannins and a long tart finish. Needs a few more years to integrate, but good now.
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Tight as hell, yet still showing loads of cherry, roasted herb, toasted oak, ash and mineral on the nose and palate. Continue holding these for three to five years as the tannins settle, and I'll keep you posted down the line.
Enjoy now with an extended decant or hold. 93+ -JS
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This wine was decanted and poured. It did not show up to expectations based on prior experiences with this wine. This wine was purchased on release with other bottles that showed very well previously. This wine shows a disjointed and austere personality on both the bouquet and palate. The aromatics show tar, black cherry, camp fire and spice notes that are unbalanced and disjointed. At times they do hint at becoming a harmonious whole but fail during the wines consumption. The color is a medium to dark ruby that is appropriate for the wines age. The medium bodied palate shows the most awkwardness. It fails to harmonize and shows dominant drying tannins on the finish. Additionally, the ripe, forward fruit of previous bottles has started to fade leaving a strong tannin and acid impression. Hopefully this bottle is an anomaly and not an indicator of where this wine is headed. Based on this bottle, there is little or no chance to improve with additional bottle age as the strong tannin presence will most likely remain as the fruit continues to fade.
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Tasted blind. High-toned nose. Graphite, iron, cedar, beetroots, bell pepper, newly cut lawn, herbs and walnuts. Opens up to flowers. In the mouth it's slender, austere and premature. Seems to be very young, maybe a traditional 06? A bit controversial among the tasters and hard to judge for now, not a pleaser. But it seems to have what's needed for the long haul: a tightly wound core of fruit and tannins. Be patient and check back in 2014, for the first bottle.
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Deep, purply color. Lovely nose of dark cherries and sweet oak. A regal Chianti with more depth and breadth across the palate than is typical. Very fresh fruit with wonderful dark cherry flavors along with notes of sandalwood and red spices. Finishes with strong tannins that could a few years to soften up but this is balanced and classy juice that pairs well with roasted meats and rich pastas. 91+
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A modern Chianti almost purple even 5 years after harvest. Luxury nose with loads of cherry, plum, flowers and oak. Extremely concentrated juice with acidity and tons of tannin - this is not a baby, but not yet a teen either. The balance is there but I will not revisit untill approx. 2015.
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Deep, dark color. Black sour cherry, plum, and some floral notes. Beautiful nose and big tannins. Nice long finish. Drinking well now but I still think it may need more time. Overpriced? Yes but very nice.
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A wonderful Chianti -- good fruit, a little dustiness, some grainy tannins, leather... definitely needs food at this point but can't go wrong with tomato sauce and this bottle.
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Man oh man, I love 2004 CCR, and this a a gorgeous, top-shelf example. Not as rustic as some Chianti, loaded with fruit, and yet classically proportioned. Beautiful wine.
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Rich ruby color. Expressive bouquet of cherry, coffee, menthol, melted licorice, leather, plum, and mineral. Almost port like nose, floral perfume, and chocolate. Powerful and beautiful. Balanced and full bodied. A little overpriced, but excellent wine. Went well with a ribeye.
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Awesome stuff; packed with sappy black cherries and plums mingled with leather, earth, sandalwood and floral elements. Fantastic balance and depth with good acidity and chewy tannins lurking underneath the rich, deep fruit flavours, finishing very long. Really delicious.
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This is my second go round with this wine and so far two for two. Any thoughts of the wine being shut down were quickly put to rest as a awesome notes of deep pitched cherry and balsam were paired by just developing tones of fresh shaved cedar. The palate was class in the glass, so elegant, but in no hurry to show you everything at once. Brilliant acidity to off set the deep set red fruit make this the pinnacle of a food pairing red wine, at least for my palate. Long finish, that just got better and better. I have just two bottles left, which has me concerned that they will never see maturity, given the enjoyment they cause at present.
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World Gourmet Summit: Chianti Classico Wine Fair (St Regis, Singapore): Nose: Detectable but well integrated oak along with dark cherries and earth tones. Classic yet elegant in a modern way Taste: Still quite young, but great structure in the tannins. Pepper notes along with the fruit and herbs. This would benefit from some decanting because it's still a little tight.
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Classic Values (My Apartment): Roasted mint, soft wood, aloe scents, tobacco, dried mixed berries--quite a nice nose. Palate has some pretty fresh-tasting dark red to blue fruits with a little graphite & dried earth tones included. Finish feels rich & is very enjoyable; includes spice & fruit & the flavors from the mint / aloe tones noted on the nose. Great bottle!
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"Classic Values" night (Phillip's apt, Chicago IL): nose: beautiful and elegant nose that has a chalky base with lovely tones of florals, spices, herbs, bits of pipe tobacco, berries, and hints of earthen tones. Very expressive at this time with a good amount of class and depth
taste: very good and firm tannins with medium+ acidity. Elegant tones of dark red cherries, herbs, floral bits, spice tones and bits of earthen tones meld very well together with the class that good sangiovese brings
overall: lovely and very young. Will need a could of years to fully come together and let the nuances shine. This is easily on par with a lot of brunellos(and costs the same). Excellent aromatics and tones at this young age already, it can only go up from here and really bloom
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Popped and poured. Dark ruby in the glass. Great nose of smoke and tobacco. Medium-bodied and a marvelous mouthful of cherry, toasted oak and earth with considerable tannins. The finish lasts minutes. Improved considerably over a five-hour period. Has the stuffing to develop into an even more extraordinary wine in 10 years. Easily, the finest Chianti I have ever tasted.
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18 Jan 2009 Dinner at Sunbird Ave with WGS & Joanne, Patrick and wife, WTW.
2004 Fontodi Chianti Classico Riserva Vigna del Sorbo (Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico) 13.5%. Decanted for ~1.5 hours. Though somewhat subdued, a complex and multi-layered bouquet, nutty and touches of tobacco and mint. The little dash of Cabernet Sauvignon is interesting. A balanced palate with earth, dark berries, almond ending with a long finish. A little hard but not quite bothered with some medium fine grained tannins. Will definitely need more time in the bottle, someone on the table said it will be glorious in a decade! This bottle seems to perform better than the one tasted yesterday afternoon. Chianti is not my favourites but this is certainly an exception. 2003 is certainly more open but sold out
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Giron 2nd Tasting (NK's Home): Sweet indian flowers married witjh coffee, dark ripe berries nicely lifted by liquer. Teeth-coating tannins. Some smoke and dried earth on mostly plummish fruits. Quite balanced and elegant.
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Tasting at NK Yong's (Swettenham Road, Singapore): Serious stuff, but needs some time in the bottle. Nose showed coffee and vanilla along with savoury, lightly roasted meat notes, a layering of earth and lots of berries. Lovely, complex accents. With time, I got some menthol notes, green peppers and a hint of flowers. The palate introduced itself with a grip of tannins, which quickly unrolled to show an excellent freshness and balance with sweet, fresh berry flavours and notes of earth and spice as the wine moved into a longish finish. It started to clamp shut after some time, but did enough to show its potential.
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Showed a bit better at the winery but I attribute that to the fact that this wine needs many more years or 3-4 hours of decanting. Still opens very tight then progresses into a tight cherry bomb that just keeps opening up until we finished it. Way before it was completly ready.
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Bottle C - Group #4, My #1 - Full red color. Medium bright red fruit with some green / mint notes. Nice juicy black cherry with good round structure - nice black fruit, rose, and graphite. Still very young, this could become really nice. 93+ pts.
Bottle H - Group #1, My #2 - Full deep red color. Full bright clean black and red currant nose - lifted. Nice structured rich deep black fruit with a chocolate note and a mouthcoating tannic finish. Young. 93+ pts.
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Decanted 6 hrs. Wow, this plain did me good. Its hard to explain exactly why, as this was by no means some type of sangiovese Frankenstein, but a soothingly elegant, and noble specimen, and had me hooked at hello. A little restrained on the nose, but aggressive swirling coaxed out notes of sour cherry, balsam, and touches of tobacco and mint. I could wax on and on about the technical descriptors of the wine, but would it was the palate staining texture and caressing acidity (and dynamite dried cherry flavors) that left a lasting impression. Not a spec of detectable oak, and medium fine grained tannins. Will be glorious in a decade, and then my 92 score will look foolishly conservative.
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This is a big, ripe and modern style of Chianti. The bouquet showed very ripe and primary black fruits coupled with vanilla and toasted oak tones. The wine is very primary and in awkward youthful stage. The bouquet shifted throughout the evening from open and forward to closed and unyielding. The color is dark red to purple. The medium to full bodied palate continued the primary theme. Again the wine would shift from forward to closed. This wine was not decanted and perhaps decanting would have smoothed the transition between stages and kept the wine in its more open and forward profile. There are big dense tannins on the finish that balance the primary black fruits.
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Well, not my choice to open, but when you tell your wife they can have the fontodi chianti, one must be careful of the case of sorbo that was not hiden away.
So I try one early, it is almost painful it is sooo packed with tannins/acids/fruit and gorgeous complexity. It needs many years to come around, but this is the bomb. Oak on the nose, this is huge, for chianti, it is begging for meat (not this cold pizza I have). I can taste the small amount of cab. The acids are going to keep this for a long while, my only suggestion is WAIT, as it is sotight right now that you do not get much out of it.
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Heights of Chianti Classico Masterclass (Landmark Hotel, London): Deep purple, almost black, in colour this Sangiovese comes from a single vineyard. It's only made in outstanding vintages, and usually contains a dash of Cabernet Sauvignon. It spends 24 months in French oak. The nose shows savoury aromas with hints of leather, meat and earth. The palate shows sweet red fruit, earthy vineyard depth and natural tannins. Ends with elegance and finesse.
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Fontodi Vertical Dinner (Acquerello, San Francisco): Lifted nose with higher toned, super ripe dark fruits. Very tannic, with dark purply fruit liqueur. This was pretty tight and didn't open up significantly with air.
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The 2004 Vigna del Sorbo simply is a fantastic wine. Very sweet, very round great length. There is nothing more to ask from a great modern CCR. Bravo !!! (92)
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8/9/2023 - Winedog1 wrote: 93 Points
Fantastic aged Chianti; really special and unique. Cedar. Smoke. Wet rock. Roses. Entrancing aroma. Menthol. Eucalyptus. Mint. Rosemary. Strangely reminiscent of Emidio Pepe. Fascinating wine given the age.
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6/2/2023 - jsander Likes this wine: 94 Points
Really delicious aged Chianti. So enjoyable. Popped and poured.
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4/22/2023 - sdrucker1000 wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful. Wine is still very vibrant and bright. Didn’t need much time to open. Has many years left but great wine right now.
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2/23/2023 - henrymale Likes this wine: 92 Points
Pretty marvellous. Very pleasant tipple. Unfortunately, it's been a few months since I finished the case, so the details escape me!
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1/7/2023 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Rather dense and dark fruited for a pure Sangiovese wine? Black cherry notes along with coffee and cedar notes. Still, nicely crated overall but the extraction and oak treatment is apparent. Wonderful wine with pizzas—really enjoyed this even is not a traditional style.
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12/11/2022 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:
From the more ambitious era of Fontodi (new oak and some Cabernet Sauvignon, I seem to recall). The 2004 has a scarlet/magenta robe with some bricking. With the age and Cabernet presence, decanted for sediment (a wise decision, as there’s plenty of schmutz at the bottom of the bottle).
The nose is finally beginning to integrate the cooperage, with hints of coffee and spice on the periphery of the dark fruits and green olive (in a good way) aromas. This is still a bit more cedar-y and cassis lead for my taste; you have to squint to find the Morello cherry and underbrush, though the ferruginous undercurrent is mercifully intact. The finish is persistent and has some lift, but the overall impression is still more bifurcated that harmonious at this point; is this a Chianti or is this a Super-Tuscan? That said, this is far more knit—and frankly enjoyable—than the last bottle I opened with herbaceous charm and fresh acidity. Enjoyed with a faux Sunday gravy of sausages and leftover pork rib ragu. (Shockingly, all my Aglianico is in storage, it turns out.) Now if you find the presence of French varieties an anathema like my former employer Jamie, this won’t be your cup of tea. If you are patient and sitting on a few bottles, another couple of years may still yield something interesting, if not sublime. Re-buy? Probably not, but I don’t know as my last couple bottles need to be shuffled off to WineBid either.
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11/5/2022 - kcdutt Likes this wine: 92 Points
Well balanced, wonderful and ready to drink
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6/27/2022 - chablis28 wrote:
I'll never be a huge fan of this wine but with plenty of time the oak finally starts to integrate resulting in a fairly charming palate and drink. Enjoyed the palate more than the nose. My last of 3 btls. Room for something I admire more. 86 nose / 89/90 palate.
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5/15/2022 - Milos Likes this wine: 93 Points
This wine continues to age gracefully and at a slower pace than anticipated. About three and a half years since my previous bottles of this wine (see notes 2018 12 14) and all the same attributes are there just wrapped up little better. Very enjoyable now. That said, I do not think this wine is anywhere its peak. That is likely 5 years away, maybe more.
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3/26/2022 - Cmainardi wrote: 94 Points
Opened for one hour but not decanted. Beautiful scarlet with no bricking. Effusive nose of bright red fruits. Brilliant palate with great concentration for its age. Long finish. Wish I had more. This wine is singing right now. I did not feel it was at the end of its age at all. I have had this wine since it was the current vintage and it has been in my cellar since.
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3/12/2022 - stormygirl wrote: 86 Points
On the end of its time, not as lovely as the last bottle I had. Drink up if you have these!!
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3/1/2022 - gbauer wrote:
Double decanted two hours before tasting. It needed the air, and continued to get better in the glass. Elegant dried fruit on the nose. Great balance of acid, tannin, and fruit in the mouth. In a great place (with the air). No rush.
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1/8/2022 - Waedi wrote: 90 Points
Past peak. Drink now.
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6/10/2021 - Klugi Wine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wow, needs some serious time to open up. The bouquet is quite intense with lots of blueberries, cherry liquor, leather and lots of umami. Medium to full bodied with brooding tannins and powerful acidity. Drinking really nice right now, but still a few years away from its peak. Should easily hold for 2 more decades.
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2/7/2021 - Stevey Likes this wine: 93 Points
Pulled from cellar and let stand at room temperature (18C) for 2 days. Popped and poured and it was closed at beginning. Started to open up about an hour later (in bottle) and continued to open up more for couple of hours more before the bottle was finished. Full bodied. Tannins were strong. Excellent structure with enough stuffing to last 10 more years at least. In drinking window now but need a few hours of air time. Mild sediment at bottom of bottle.
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12/25/2020 - cannym Likes this wine: 92 Points
Lovely nose, Chinese tea and warm spices. Dark cherry to mahogany. Rich, raisins soaked in kirsch, black cherry, tobacco, old wardrobes, very smooth. Though some furry tannins on the finish if drunk on its own. Plenty acidity. Great length. Very fine indeed. Definitely drinkable now but plenty time too.
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12/12/2020 - Song103 wrote: 91 Points
Much better than the last bottle. Good to go after a 2 hours decant. The cabernet and the new oak are a bit distractive, and it does not taste too Chinati. A well made wine, just not my taste.
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10/10/2020 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:
The VA took nearly two hours to (mostly) dissipate. This version of Sorbo was back when they were adding some Cabernet Sauvignon - why I'll never know, I suppose. (Points? Fashion? both?). The nose was definitely the weak part of this equation. In addition to the CS, the 24 months in Fr. barrique really doesn't fit with anything I'm regularly drinking/admiring, either - Sangiovese-based or otherwise. The palate, however, showed solid vitality, worked well with complex food/flavors, and showed a avg+ finish. Med>Med+ body, good acidity, etc. It'll continue to evolve from here, though not sure that it can get any better. For my palate, anyway. 14,0% abv., cork and fill in vg condition. recommended
http://www.italianwine.blog
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10/3/2020 - maxima wrote: 92 Points
Bu au resto AVV La suite de Sherby avec les fouduvins
Bulle et Meursault. Super approchable et presqu'à point.
Nez sur la terre, le cuir, les fruits noirs et les épices.
En bouche texture satinée, gouleyant et minéral,
De la prune, du fenouil, du poivre de la terre et
un pointe mentholée. C'est super souple et
bien digeste. Les tanins sont fins et la
finale bien longue et enveloppante.
Très belle bouteille, celle-ci était pas mal
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10/3/2020 - NickCave wrote: 92 Points
Excellent.
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3/14/2020 - winemaker Likes this wine: 92 Points
Well made wine, but not my preferred style. Too much Cab and French oak. Outclassed tonight by the 2004 Siro Pacenti Brunello and the 2006 Mastroberardino Radici.
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2/6/2020 - Song103 wrote:
Have I drank it at an adolescent phase or is it an off bottle? I don't have the Chianti experience to judge. Decanted and drank over a 6 hours period between 14.5 to 18C, the fruit seems to have subsided (the secondary flavours has yet to develop?) leave acidity and tannin. Will try another bottle in 6 months.
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1/5/2020 - wineamateur Likes this wine:
Last of three, I think. Nice typical Sangiovese perfume and mouthfeel. Furry tannins. A bit rustic but pleasant
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7/29/2019 - Mr T wrote:
Flawed bottle
Awful nose and acidic and unpleasant to drink. Corked or bacteria? Either way a lousy science experiment
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7/29/2019 - maxima wrote: 95 Points
Encore sur son plateau je dirais, en pleine forme.
Voilà un beau CC Riserva qui en a donné dès
son achat et qui continu d'en donner...payer dans les 40$ dans le temps,
celui-ci est un Chianti d'exception.
Superbe complexité, balsam, cerises (griottes), mures,
poivre et anis avec une pointe de menthol vers la fin.
Les tanins sont fins et granuleux et l'acidité présente lui
donne des ailes.
La finale est super longue et suave.
Un vin complet, raffiné et tout simplement délicieux.
SUPERBE!
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3/31/2019 - stormygirl Likes this wine: 92 Points
opened about 2 hours before pouring. absolutely stellar!
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2/8/2019 - Paul S wrote: 92 Points
CNY Lo Hei at Alex's (Alex and Fiona's in AMK): Very good, but way, way too young. This has barely moved since I last tried it more than a decade ago. The new oak has thankfully receded, and the nose has opened up into lovely notes of dark cherries, blackberries, spice and loamy earth, but the primary tasting palate was still wrapped up in a tight robe of fine but firm tannins and deep draws of orange peel acidity. The flavours were pure and powerful, with blueberries, blackberries and powdery spice, but they clearly need a lot of time yet - this was a Monster built built for the long term. Finish was pure, clear and powerful, pulling away on the back palate with a lovely clarity wed to a real punch of fruit ringed with just a bit of spice, some leathery notes, and a lift of sweeter violet florals. Good quality stuff, but this needs a decade or two in the bottle yet.
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12/23/2018 - SpoochMan Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nice wine but this bottle was more oaky and Smokey than I remember the previous one being
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12/14/2018 - Milos Likes this wine: 93 Points
This wine is aging so gracefully. Forward nose of red fruit, violets and leather. It has shed its dark fruit for strawberry but has lost none of its complexity and elegance. Even more balanced than my previous bottle. Very soft ripe tannins are barely notable; long finish. Time to enjoy it.
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12/1/2018 - maxima wrote: 93 Points
Superbe vin, surtout avec ma sauce bolognese ax truffes, accord divin.
Nez charmeur sur l`anis, les fruits rouges et les herbes.
En bouche, suave, complexe et bien équilibré.
Des cerises et de la réglisse avec de beaux tannins fins
et une finale hyper longueur...Excellent.
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9/18/2018 - maxima wrote: 94 Points
Ouff que c`est beau ce CC...pour le prix de l`époque, c`est tout
un deal...bien fait d`avoir acheté une douzaine.
Super velouté et ample, corsé mais d`une belle complexité.
Il y a des cerises, du poivre, des herbes et du tabac.
Les tannins sont fins et la finale bien longue
et voluptueuse. Excellent!
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4/15/2018 - Dale M wrote: 94 Points
Decanted 4 hrs. Equal bursts of wintergreen, balsamic and dark cherries on the nose, there is an excellent addition of floral aromas as well. We are in a nice space here, the red cherry Sangiovese core is nicely offset by the structural elements of acid and tannin, with a subtle suggestion of cedar throughout. Great versatility on display, I can think of many different food parings that should work nicely with this guy. Going forward, though this was my last bottle, I would be careful about extended cellaring, as I could see the acid and tannin trumping the current harmony of fruit etc.
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3/23/2018 - chablis28 wrote: 92 Points
Well, much improved over my btl of 38 months ago. PnP and slow ox for 90 minutes before dinner. Semi opaque garnet color with lighter bricking edges. Throwing lots and lots of sediment. This is now fully mature and my guess holds up for 3 more years. Holding this further might pay off but, I think its arrived and will start to decline in a few. Aromas of fading fruit, balsamic, tobacco and the wild Chianti country side. The oak has finally fully integrated and you can now taste the true character of the wine without distraction. Sour cherry, Chianti garrigue, spice and mineral. Mostly elegant and resolved. Maybe a little tannin on the finish without food. I finally enjoyed this wine sans the overpowering oak of the past! 14% alc. I haven't since and would not again, buy this oaked up cuvee. I'd only go for the straight classical. One btl left. I'll sit on it just for fun, even though, I'm not expecting improvement.
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12/16/2017 - SpoochMan Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very nice chianti, and drinking well. Pretty smooth with lots of sour cherry fruit and lively acidity. It seemed to go downhill a bit after being open for a few hours, so this may not have a ton of years left. Should drink my remaining bottle in the next couple of years.
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10/15/2017 - dwmichel wrote: 90 Points
Very faded fruit. Dried black cherry, raspberry, light minerality, light tobacco, light tomato leaf. A bit past its prime.
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10/9/2017 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 95 Points
Wine with friends (at Lake Michigan) (Mike and Lori's (near Shelby MI)): Great showing and this is in a great place. I think people see Chianti and don't realize what a killer wine this is until they taste it and are surprised. Pop and pour, this was young still and opened for the first hour or so. Purple in color, The nose has cherries, leather, damp tea leaves, and spice. On the palate, this is full bodied with cherry fruit and forest floor. Complex with layers of both. Great acidity. Long finish. Great with Spaghetti and home made sauce. No hurry on this but in a great place!
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8/27/2017 - Two Winos Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted for 45 mins to an hour. It continued to evolve in the glass. Long time left on this.
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5/27/2017 - edjBoca Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted for 45 minutes...needed more. Nose was quiet but opened some over time. Structure receded over time...cherry fruit evolved. It should continue to evolve for another few years.
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1/9/2017 - maxima wrote: 94 Points
Super beau vin avec une belle acidité, acidité qui le rend frais et tellement un bel accord avec les plâts, un Osso Bucco dans ce cas.
Quel beau vin complexe et équilibré, il commence à peine à entrer dans sa fenêtre du "Sweet Spot"!
Arômes de cerises noir, d'anis et de poivre. Les tannins sont bien enrobés et la finale vraiment longue.
Rien n'accroche, Excellent.
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10/2/2016 - Dale M wrote: 93 Points
Decanted 2 hrs. Another strong showing with lots to enjoy here, sangiovese with a slight modern edge, pronounced cedar and bright red cherry fruit. Some mid palate richness and wood tannin suggest this did see some new oak (unsure regimen here) but it has melded together pretty well. At plateau of drinking maturity and should hold for a good 5 years or so. Very good VsD, but I think i like the long term potential of the 06 a little more at this stage.
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7/1/2016 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 91 Points
The nose was earthy with dusty soil, leather, dried flowers and sweet herbs. On the palate, I found angular textures with gripping tannin, giving way to tart cherry and brisk acidity. Tannin coated the palate throughout the finish, drying the senses and the wine’s otherwise beautiful fruit. I hope to be wrong one day about the 2004, as on this night it seemed as if the wood tannin may outlive the fruit. At the moment, it’s a hard wine to like.
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4/8/2016 - isbjoern wrote: flawed
Clearly spoiled by TCA, most likely a cork taint, just as the regular Classico wine from the same vintage tasted some years ago.
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1/19/2016 - maxima wrote: 93 Points
Super beau Chianti d'une grande maison, j'adore. Bouteille ouverte, décanté soigneusement lors de la mise en carafe (léger dépot fin) puis remis en bouteille épaulée pour 8 heures avant le repas (côte de veau sauce forrestière).
Le nez est sublime, élégant sur des notes de fleurs, d'épices, de tabac blond avec des petites cerises et une pointe de terre.
En bouche, très dense et assez ample. Cerises noires, anis, roses et poivre avec une belle acidité et des tannins bien enrobés.
La finale est longue et succulente. Encore assez jeune et fringant mais déjà très bon.
Du très beau Sangiovese, plusieurs on mentionné qu'ils avaient un beau Brunello dans leur verre...ça dit tout!
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11/2/2015 - Mr T wrote:
Decent but not great in terms of vibrant flavors or purity...I thought it better on day 3 after 2/3 of the bottle had more time to open and evolve.
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6/2/2015 - Ken63 Likes this wine: 92 Points
excellent
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4/24/2015 - rikipedia Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep- mahogany to brick red rim.
Stimulating bouquet of tar, licorice, crushed rocks, iron fillings and plenty of red fruits. Freshness to the wine as the rock dust and bright red cherries rise as the wine opens.
Medium to full-bodied, there is a freshness to the entry helped by vibrant acidity. Powdery in texture, plenty of chalk and stone flavours, liquorice and Bing cherries. The alcohol gives richness to coat the firmer, chalky tannins that leave a gravelly texture on the back palate. Superb length, this is an expressive wine with fortitude, containing all the structural bones, bite of acidity and flesh to be a winner. Complex long and overall and excellent wine!
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2/6/2015 - Louvin wrote: 90 Points
With a 2 hr decant, the first taste was full of oak covering deep cherry fruit, so as this opened in the glass it was important to pair with food as this covered up the oak considerably with tomato ingrediants. In the end this was showing more fruit. Bottom line, needs more time.
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1/31/2015 - chablis28 wrote: 86 Points
Not real excited about owning 2 more of these. Tons of vanilla when I opened it so I decanted immediately which helped quite a bit but still marred by too much oak for my liking. Especially, at ONLY, 10yrs+ in. Blind I might guess young BDX. Too bad, as underneath the burden of all the oak is some decent sangiovese begging to show its stuff. I think I tried one on release and wrote off the oak as too young. Can't see this ever being awesome for my palate. Some chewy tannins on the finish too. My wife thought it was an inexpensive wine. Paid $45 and disappointed. Only upside, this is the only vintage I own. If, you like smoky new world wine this will thrill you. This is the sort of wine they ripped in Mondovino. Hoping I like this somewhat more in a few years.
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9/14/2014 - Uncle John wrote: 93 Points
Had this after the 2004 Flaccianello. Needed an hour+ in the decanter to show well. More modern than its sibling. Sorbo was rounder and less earthy. Still a great showing with beautiful dark fruit balanced acidity and smooth tannins. Next time I will drink the Sorbo first.
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5/29/2014 - Brnshj22 wrote: 92 Points
Very open for business. A little funk but after a few minutes it finds itself and presents a beautiful wine. Good job by Fontodi.
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4/18/2014 - winemaker Likes this wine: 94 Points
Pulled from the cellar and popped and poured 3 hours later. Lovely deep red with some bricking at the rim. Really smells rich and cab like. Earth, cherries with some herbaceous notes. This is a delicious wine. It tastes more like sangiovese than cab which is a good thing. Tart and complex with noticeable tannins. Long finish. This a wine with power and complexity. Should hold for years.
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3/24/2014 - Frank&Steph wrote: 92 Points
Fontodi vigna del sorbo 2004: ouvert vendredi midi et bu à partir de 18h carafer les 2/3 1 heure avant de le boire:
robe: belle robe rouge avec reflets pourpre. le vin ne semble pas avoir 9 ans.
très beau nez sur la cerise, le cuir, un côté épicé, et un petit côté vert.. avec un peu de thym. Le dimanche, le nez est vraiment beau, belle opulence, le cuir est bien présent et donne un peu de profondeur au nez. un aspect fines herbe est bien agréable aussi.
En bouche, on y retrouve les mêmes arômes, avec une amertume en finale. très beaux vin, encore meilleur dimanche avec le 1/3 de la bouteilles restante. Les tannins se sont assagis en 2 jours. l'ensemble est plus ouvert et harmonieux.
Je vais ouvrir l'autre bouteille dans quelques années... je vais attendre le 15 ans d'âge pour en voir l'évolution.
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9/29/2013 - Two Winos Likes this wine: 92 Points
I'm not a huge fan of Chianti, this one is a star. Still seems young, needed about 45 mins to open up. Was a little harsh at initial opening. Very nice drinking wine.
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8/4/2013 - wurzel68 wrote: 87 Points
Dunkles purpurrot, an der Nase schwere Brombeer-, Kirsch- und Beerennoten; Veilchen, etwas Lakritz und Kräuter; geringe oxidative Töne, deutlicher Holzanteil, viel mittelkörniges Tannin, im Abgang zehrend
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6/22/2013 - edjBoca wrote:
This drank better the second day. Wait on these. I am sipping it now. Much better. Wait.
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5/27/2013 - jakearoe Likes this wine:
Sorbo sung last night. Not sure why I picked this bottle, as I was wanting more of a classic chianti profile than this wine offers, but glad I did as it still fit our cuisine well and was really drinking well after an hour in the decanter. While very full-bodied it was much more in a drinking window than the last bottle a couple of years ago, which surprised me. Really nice dark red fruit with tannins very much in check. Big mouthfeel. If memory serves, Manetti adds some cab to this CCR, and it really cuts the acidity edge, putting it a bit outside the norm for most CCR's we drink. Great bottle.
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10/29/2012 - Kris G wrote: 88 Points
tasted blind
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10/21/2012 - nschmidt wrote: 92 Points
Drank at davina. Lovely balance with lots of life left.
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9/5/2012 - Blake Brown Likes this wine: 94 Points
80% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet; worthy of consideration for the WOTD among many wines; multi dimensional, fresh fruitiness, great complexity and length contribute to overall magnificence.
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6/8/2012 - stevenjstein Likes this wine: 94 Points
A big, modern, Chianti. Intense dark cherry fruit, with silky tannins and powerful acidity.
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5/7/2012 - rikipedia wrote: 86 Points
Terroir-istes International - Italy, Chianti Classico (Rodwell House): The attractive nose displays ripe red plums, red berries and sour cherries, undergrowth, and some tertiary characteristics.
A crisp, crunchy acid on entry with somewhat drying tannins and a few nutty notes? There is hotness to the wine, the alcohol protruds whilst it also feels extracted.
There is dry earth, undergrowth, wood smoke and red and black fruits, yet the wine has a plush, polished feel even though, for me, it seemed a little over-ambitious and lacking charm in the process. there is a pinch of Chinese 5 spice and a vegetal feel that gave an unripe quality to the wine. A wine of contrasts, the wine felt like it had interest but all the elements were falling over each other to show themselves. Perhaps an awkward stage. Certainly, the firm tannin suggests some unripe characters, whilst the finish lacked persistence.
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4/1/2012 - winemaker wrote: 94 Points
Very big wine. Dark red, Packed with dark cherry fruit, earth, leather and a touch of brett. Excellent! Plenty of life here.
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3/31/2012 - gorm wrote: 93 Points
Amazing chianti... Dark fresh fruits, tar, licorice, tobacco. Concentrated, yet fresh, very drinkable, yet so true to its terroir.
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1/17/2012 - Druidh wrote: 93 Points
deep color. wonderful nose of cherry,earth and flowers. Lots of fruit up front with spices coming ini mid-palate. Great tannin and acid. Needs a couple of years
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10/21/2011 - cmclean wrote: 95 Points
huge, drinking well, tremendous nose
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7/31/2011 - Milos wrote: 92 Points
Forward nose of dark red fruit, black cherry, blackberry, violets and leather. Good mid palate, balanced, mineral complexity and long finish. Drinks well now but will go for a while yet. Still in the primary fruit stage. Perfect pasta wine.
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7/24/2011 - jakearoe wrote:
Decanted a couple of hours, first bottle of this vintage, and we were overall very pleased. Very cherry, sweet berry, and licorice on the palate along with some oak. Still, we thought it very good with great potential. Great fruit, dusty tannins, and a nice zing of sangiovese. I've always liked this CCR, and this vintage is no exception. Certainly still quite stiff and austere, but very enjoyable. Let the rest lay out for while.
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3/4/2011 - Bill Bucklew wrote: 92 Points
lear, medium ruby color
Red and black cherry nose,
Dusty red cherries, sweet blackberries through the mid-palate, finishing with strong tannins and a long tart finish. Needs a few more years to integrate, but good now.
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1/5/2011 - CdP in NYC wrote: 93 Points
Tight as hell, yet still showing loads of cherry, roasted herb, toasted oak, ash and mineral on the nose and palate. Continue holding these for three to five years as the tannins settle, and I'll keep you posted down the line.
Enjoy now with an extended decant or hold. 93+ -JS
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2/8/2010 - sehill wrote: 84 Points
This wine was decanted and poured. It did not show up to expectations based on prior experiences with this wine. This wine was purchased on release with other bottles that showed very well previously. This wine shows a disjointed and austere personality on both the bouquet and palate. The aromatics show tar, black cherry, camp fire and spice notes that are unbalanced and disjointed. At times they do hint at becoming a harmonious whole but fail during the wines consumption. The color is a medium to dark ruby that is appropriate for the wines age. The medium bodied palate shows the most awkwardness. It fails to harmonize and shows dominant drying tannins on the finish. Additionally, the ripe, forward fruit of previous bottles has started to fade leaving a strong tannin and acid impression. Hopefully this bottle is an anomaly and not an indicator of where this wine is headed. Based on this bottle, there is little or no chance to improve with additional bottle age as the strong tannin presence will most likely remain as the fruit continues to fade.
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2/6/2010 - Finare Vinare wrote: 91 Points
Tasted blind. High-toned nose. Graphite, iron, cedar, beetroots, bell pepper, newly cut lawn, herbs and walnuts. Opens up to flowers. In the mouth it's slender, austere and premature. Seems to be very young, maybe a traditional 06? A bit controversial among the tasters and hard to judge for now, not a pleaser. But it seems to have what's needed for the long haul: a tightly wound core of fruit and tannins. Be patient and check back in 2014, for the first bottle.
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2/5/2010 - dream wrote: 91 Points
Deep, purply color. Lovely nose of dark cherries and sweet oak. A regal Chianti with more depth and breadth across the palate than is typical. Very fresh fruit with wonderful dark cherry flavors along with notes of sandalwood and red spices. Finishes with strong tannins that could a few years to soften up but this is balanced and classy juice that pairs well with roasted meats and rich pastas. 91+
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12/30/2009 - Jcwl wrote: 92 Points
A modern Chianti almost purple even 5 years after harvest. Luxury nose with loads of cherry, plum, flowers and oak. Extremely concentrated juice with acidity and tons of tannin - this is not a baby, but not yet a teen either. The balance is there but I will not revisit untill approx. 2015.
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12/29/2009 - RJurman wrote: 90 Points
Deep, dark color. Black sour cherry, plum, and some floral notes. Beautiful nose and big tannins. Nice long finish. Drinking well now but I still think it may need more time. Overpriced? Yes but very nice.
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12/14/2009 - Bob Fyke wrote: 91 Points
Beautiful pure Sangiovese. Elegant style with clean cherry, richness and great balance.
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11/26/2009 - don_quichotte wrote: 90 Points
Drank in way too small a glass, which really ruined the whole thing.
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11/13/2009 - nomadfromcincy wrote:
A wonderful Chianti -- good fruit, a little dustiness, some grainy tannins, leather... definitely needs food at this point but can't go wrong with tomato sauce and this bottle.
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11/13/2009 - Eric wrote:
Man oh man, I love 2004 CCR, and this a a gorgeous, top-shelf example. Not as rustic as some Chianti, loaded with fruit, and yet classically proportioned. Beautiful wine.
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10/24/2009 - pian0_player wrote: 93 Points
Rich ruby color. Expressive bouquet of cherry, coffee, menthol, melted licorice, leather, plum, and mineral. Almost port like nose, floral perfume, and chocolate. Powerful and beautiful. Balanced and full bodied. A little overpriced, but excellent wine. Went well with a ribeye.
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10/14/2009 - salil wrote: 93 Points
Awesome stuff; packed with sappy black cherries and plums mingled with leather, earth, sandalwood and floral elements. Fantastic balance and depth with good acidity and chewy tannins lurking underneath the rich, deep fruit flavours, finishing very long. Really delicious.
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10/8/2009 - Niagara wrote: 85 Points
Decent wine, but overpriced; poor QPR.
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9/7/2009 - Dale M wrote: 94 Points
This is my second go round with this wine and so far two for two. Any thoughts of the wine being shut down were quickly put to rest as a awesome notes of deep pitched cherry and balsam were paired by just developing tones of fresh shaved cedar. The palate was class in the glass, so elegant, but in no hurry to show you everything at once. Brilliant acidity to off set the deep set red fruit make this the pinnacle of a food pairing red wine, at least for my palate. Long finish, that just got better and better. I have just two bottles left, which has me concerned that they will never see maturity, given the enjoyment they cause at present.
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4/26/2009 - ikileo wrote:
World Gourmet Summit: Chianti Classico Wine Fair (St Regis, Singapore): Nose: Detectable but well integrated oak along with dark cherries and earth tones. Classic yet elegant in a modern way
Taste: Still quite young, but great structure in the tannins. Pepper notes along with the fruit and herbs. This would benefit from some decanting because it's still a little tight.
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2/28/2009 - cobbpa wrote: 92 Points
Classic Values (My Apartment): Roasted mint, soft wood, aloe scents, tobacco, dried mixed berries--quite a nice nose. Palate has some pretty fresh-tasting dark red to blue fruits with a little graphite & dried earth tones included. Finish feels rich & is very enjoyable; includes spice & fruit & the flavors from the mint / aloe tones noted on the nose. Great bottle!
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2/28/2009 - KeithAkers wrote: 93 Points
"Classic Values" night (Phillip's apt, Chicago IL): nose: beautiful and elegant nose that has a chalky base with lovely tones of florals, spices, herbs, bits of pipe tobacco, berries, and hints of earthen tones. Very expressive at this time with a good amount of class and depth
taste: very good and firm tannins with medium+ acidity. Elegant tones of dark red cherries, herbs, floral bits, spice tones and bits of earthen tones meld very well together with the class that good sangiovese brings
overall: lovely and very young. Will need a could of years to fully come together and let the nuances shine. This is easily on par with a lot of brunellos(and costs the same). Excellent aromatics and tones at this young age already, it can only go up from here and really bloom
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2/5/2009 - Dagalaifus Likes this wine: 93 Points
Popped and poured. Dark ruby in the glass. Great nose of smoke and tobacco. Medium-bodied and a marvelous mouthful of cherry, toasted oak and earth with considerable tannins. The finish lasts minutes. Improved considerably over a five-hour period. Has the stuffing to develop into an even more extraordinary wine in 10 years. Easily, the finest Chianti I have ever tasted.
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1/24/2009 - windgod wrote: 91 Points
18 Jan 2009
Dinner at Sunbird Ave with WGS & Joanne, Patrick and wife, WTW.
2004 Fontodi Chianti Classico Riserva Vigna del Sorbo (Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico)
13.5%. Decanted for ~1.5 hours. Though somewhat subdued, a complex and multi-layered bouquet, nutty and touches of tobacco and mint. The little dash of Cabernet Sauvignon is interesting. A balanced palate with earth, dark berries, almond ending with a long finish. A little hard but not quite bothered with some medium fine grained tannins. Will definitely need more time in the bottle, someone on the table said it will be glorious in a decade! This bottle seems to perform better than the one tasted yesterday afternoon. Chianti is not my favourites but this is certainly an exception. 2003 is certainly more open but sold out
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1/17/2009 - Alex H wrote: 84 Points
Giron 2nd Tasting (NK's Home): Sweet indian flowers married witjh coffee, dark ripe berries nicely lifted by liquer. Teeth-coating tannins. Some smoke and dried earth on mostly plummish fruits. Quite balanced and elegant.
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1/17/2009 - Paul S wrote: 93 Points
Tasting at NK Yong's (Swettenham Road, Singapore): Serious stuff, but needs some time in the bottle. Nose showed coffee and vanilla along with savoury, lightly roasted meat notes, a layering of earth and lots of berries. Lovely, complex accents. With time, I got some menthol notes, green peppers and a hint of flowers. The palate introduced itself with a grip of tannins, which quickly unrolled to show an excellent freshness and balance with sweet, fresh berry flavours and notes of earth and spice as the wine moved into a longish finish. It started to clamp shut after some time, but did enough to show its potential.
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1/12/2009 - jjmurray23 wrote: 94 Points
Fantastic chianti. Decanted 3 hours prior. Spicy, tobacco nose. Dark cherry, exotic spices, hint of vanilla. Still tannic and young.
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1/10/2009 - pinotwinelover wrote: 94 Points
Showed a bit better at the winery but I attribute that to the fact that this wine needs many more years or 3-4 hours of decanting. Still opens very tight then progresses into a tight cherry bomb that just keeps opening up until we finished it. Way before it was completly ready.
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1/4/2009 - Rinaldo Piemonte wrote: 90 Points
No tasting notes yet...will wait on next bottle.
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12/20/2008 - Brnshj22 wrote: 93 Points
See previous note.
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12/20/2008 - Brnshj22 wrote: 93 Points
Best of the best in our 04 CCR-tasting. Excellent buy.
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10/30/2008 - winefool wrote: 93 Points
Wineflock - Chianti Classico Riserva (Matasar's): Duplicate bottles with the higher scoring seeing more time in decanter...
Bottle C - Group #4, My #1 - Full red color. Medium bright red fruit with some green / mint notes. Nice juicy black cherry with good round structure - nice black fruit, rose, and graphite. Still very young, this could become really nice. 93+ pts.
Bottle H - Group #1, My #2 - Full deep red color. Full bright clean black and red currant nose - lifted. Nice structured rich deep black fruit with a chocolate note and a mouthcoating tannic finish. Young. 93+ pts.
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10/5/2008 - Dale M wrote: 92 Points
Decanted 6 hrs. Wow, this plain did me good. Its hard to explain exactly why, as this was by no means some type of sangiovese Frankenstein, but a soothingly elegant, and noble specimen, and had me hooked at hello. A little restrained on the nose, but aggressive swirling coaxed out notes of sour cherry, balsam, and touches of tobacco and mint. I could wax on and on about the technical descriptors of the wine, but would it was the palate staining texture and caressing acidity (and dynamite dried cherry flavors) that left a lasting impression. Not a spec of detectable oak, and medium fine grained tannins. Will be glorious in a decade, and then my 92 score will look foolishly conservative.
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8/31/2008 - sehill wrote: 93 Points
This is a big, ripe and modern style of Chianti. The bouquet showed very ripe and primary black fruits coupled with vanilla and toasted oak tones. The wine is very primary and in awkward youthful stage. The bouquet shifted throughout the evening from open and forward to closed and unyielding. The color is dark red to purple. The medium to full bodied palate continued the primary theme. Again the wine would shift from forward to closed. This wine was not decanted and perhaps decanting would have smoothed the transition between stages and kept the wine in its more open and forward profile. There are big dense tannins on the finish that balance the primary black fruits.
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7/10/2008 - beachbum wrote: 92 Points
Well, not my choice to open, but when you tell your wife they can have the fontodi chianti, one must be careful of the case of sorbo that was not hiden away.
So I try one early, it is almost painful it is sooo packed with tannins/acids/fruit and gorgeous complexity. It needs many years to come around, but this is the bomb. Oak on the nose, this is huge, for chianti, it is begging for meat (not this cold pizza I have). I can taste the small amount of cab. The acids are going to keep this for a long while, my only suggestion is WAIT, as it is sotight right now that you do not get much out of it.
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5/17/2008 - Wrighty wrote: 89 Points
Decanter Great Italian Fine Wine Encounter (Landmark Hotel, London): Good fruit nose. Soft palate, short finish. Good everyday wine - slightly tannic finish
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5/17/2008 - jamieirving wrote: 87 Points
Heights of Chianti Classico Masterclass (Landmark Hotel, London): Deep purple, almost black, in colour this Sangiovese comes from a single vineyard. It's only made in outstanding vintages, and usually contains a dash of Cabernet Sauvignon. It spends 24 months in French oak. The nose shows savoury aromas with hints of leather, meat and earth. The palate shows sweet red fruit, earthy vineyard depth and natural tannins. Ends with elegance and finesse.
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4/23/2008 - 5laton wrote:
Fontodi Vertical Dinner (Acquerello, San Francisco): Lifted nose with higher toned, super ripe dark fruits. Very tannic, with dark purply fruit liqueur. This was pretty tight and didn't open up significantly with air.
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3/26/2008 - FJB wrote: 92 Points
The 2004 Vigna del Sorbo simply is a fantastic wine. Very sweet, very round great length. There is nothing more to ask from a great modern CCR. Bravo !!! (92)
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