1985 Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva Il Poggio

Community Tasting Notes (35) Avg Score: 92.0 points

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  3/8/2024 - kingkanu wrote:

  Double decanted off the sediment. Medium light body, bricking eating into the wine but it still has a bright ruby red core. Plenty of cherry fruit, a touch of dried orange peel and tobacco, the structure is still strong, a real vertical presence and a fair few fine tannins.very impressive at this age, the bottle, label, capsule all looked in pristine condition.

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  6/7/2021 - forceberry wrote: 95 Points

  A blend of Sangiovese (95%), Canaiolo and Colorino. Fermented and macerated with the skins for 20-22 days in stainless steel tanks. Aged for approximately 18 months in partly new 500-liter demi-muids. 13,5% alcohol.
  
  Luminous, somewhat evolved and quite translucent brick-red color with a deep ruby core. Mature, somewhat wizened and wonderfully complex nose with seductive aromas of wizened dark forest fruits, some ripe black cherries, light leathery tones, a little bit of earth, dried-fruit hints of raisins and dried dates, a touch of pouch tobacco and a whiff of cranberry sauce. Lovely! The wine is full-bodied, silky and resolved on the palate with complex, evolved flavors of wizened red cherries and sour cherry bitterness, pouch tobacco, some beef jerky tones, a little bit of charred game, light salty-umami notes of soy sauce, a hint of dried figs and a touch of old, cracking leather. The wine still retains great sense of structure, thanks to its rather high acidity and still moderately grippy medium-plus tannins. The finish is long and savory with persistent, layered flavors of sour cherries, meaty umami, some crunchy cranberry tones, a little bit of charred game, light notes of tobacco, a hint of smoky cigar and a touch of beef jerky. The wine ends on a moderately grippy note and the sour cherry bitterness seems to grow in intensity towards the end of the aftertaste.
  
  A beautiful, wonderfully evolved and remarkably complex Chianti Classico that is in a terrific spot right now. While not a "big" wine by any means, the wine is surprisingly ripe and concentrated for an 80's Chianti Classico. I doubt the wine is going to evolve much further from here, but most likely this will keep good for years - maybe even decades. Easily one of the most impressive Chiantis I've tasted and ever-so-slightly more impressive than the almost as exceptional Il Poggio 1983. Stunning stuff, highly recommended.

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  5/3/2021 - glou.sf Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Tasted blind. Slightly gamey nose of red fruit and smoke. Nice acidity with a blood/iron note, red berries, as well as integrated tannins that add a silky structure on the palate. Good, lingering finish. I have very little experience with Sangiovese this old, but this seems to have quite a few years left and tasted probably 10 years younger than it actually was.

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  9/13/2019 - lolo66 wrote: 93 Points

  dusty cherries and smokey cigar notes. Some leather but a healthy deep sweetness here as well. Very nice.

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  9/1/2019 - TheSauerKraut Likes this wine:

  A library release in excellent condition. A textbook example of how well fine Chianti can age.

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