2018 Badia a Coltibuono Chianti Classico Riserva

Community Tasting Notes (6) Avg Score: 92.2 points

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  11/10/2023 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

  Lest you think I drink nothing but fancy wines or obscure bottles, let me tell you dear reader, sometimes I buy from the random caviste. And such is the case here. Found myself short of Chianti on a Sunday when my local, Maine and Loire, was shut for family time (and good for them!) and dropped by another local and snagged a few bottles off the shelf. And tonight with a bit of a chill to the air and a mushroom Bolognese in the freezer, Chianti was in order and it seemed a good time to open this bottle. Badia a Coltibuono is a fine grower with excellent farming practices, but mostly authentic tasting Chianti. But with 8-1/2 years at Chambers Street Wines and 7 years prior at a wine store with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of Castello di Cacchiano 2001 Chianti Classico Riserva from Robert Chadderdon, my palate and buying habits have been proscribed. And what to do when your Monte Bernardi is hours away in gentle slumber in storage? You buy national and hope for the best.
  Which is my long-winded way of saying this is good—real good. Electric? No. But worth the money if you come across a bottle. All the authentic Chianti Classico markers are there: forest floor, iron shavings, Morello cherry, powdery tannins, and that faintest whiff of dried flowers, which I like to acquaint with classy old lady face powder—sweet but decidedly not cloying. The tannins aren’t overly manipulated, and despite the warmth of the vintage there’s humming acidity. And the fruit is knit rather than shouting down the structure. I like this a lot. Buy two cases, like? No. But I’ll snag 3-4 more bottles for the wine rack and the occasional mushroom Bolognese emergency or the errant pasta e fagiole. Re-buy? Tomorrow if there are bottles remaining. By all means buy Caparsa, Montesecondo, or Monte Bernardi if you see em, but this is well worth a look.

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  11/4/2023 - Stanrocks Likes this wine: 92 Points

  92/94
  
  Very Good wine, already feeling well to drink, it is full of dried tomatoes, and rose, flowery, Nebbiolo in a riper style, but not the cooked way we sometimes find in Brunello, very complex and deep, with smoke/sooth, mint, eucalypt, sage, herbs...
  
  Palate is exquisite, vibrant, fresh, and yet soft but tight tannins, grippy but not dry, it 's a kicker ! Great finish, salty and umami, glutamate ! Alongside the Poggio al Vento, it feels thinner, smoother, softer, but so much more in place ! Still way bigger is the Poggio which opens up nicely !
  
  Great Wine !

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  8/8/2023 - JeffaC Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Purchased a case of this after enjoying the 2017. One of the most enjoyable Chianti’s I’ve had - good fruit and depth complimenting the typical Sangiovese acidity.

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  4/19/2023 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

  A grape selection as well as longer aging. And good structure and power to it.

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  4/10/2023 - SimonDong wrote: 91 Points

  took 2 hr to open. orange juice, rasberry, hints of spice, good amount of oak with leather and some chocolate. medium tannins, finish is medium length.
  definitely a riserva, good for the price.

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