Community Tasting Note

• csimm wrote: 93 points

  June 30, 2020 - Translucent red and black berry, dried cranberry, cedar, forest floor, mushroom, tobacco leaf, and slight citrus rind. Medium-bodied, decent complexity (eventually), with a light and racy delivery that stays primary at times but also manages to work a decent enough amount of flavor expansion out of its core after 3-4 hours of decanted air to provide certain enjoyment.
  
  This could use another 4-5 years to fully flesh-out. It’ll never be a powerhouse of a wine, nor an incredibly deep specimen, but instead impresses for its finesse and food-friendly demeanor. My girl liked it more than me, citing a nice cut and more biting (but not astringent) grip on the very tail. Definitely better with food. 93+ points for me. Hold until 2025 and hope the fruit stays fresh and relevant enough in the face of the acid. An enjoyable drink once it had time to air-out, if not an especially memorable one for me personally.

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5 Comments

• sfwinelover1 commented:

  7/1/20, 5:25 PM - That's a good chianti, one I'd rank with Volpaia and only below, well below, the Sorbo we both like, at least among Chiantis I've had. That said, for sangios, I find it well below the Fontalloro, Flaccianello, Anfiteatro, Castellare I Sodi and most BdMs, many at not much higher prices (and most a lot easier to get through without food). Look forward to sharing some with you one of these days . . .

• csimm commented:

  7/2/20, 7:50 AM - I liked it quite a bit… It just wasn’t super memorable for me. For my personal palate preference I would’ve liked a little more density but I did feel like it had a decent amount of complexity and tiered flavoring. Just a little lighter overall in body then some others. I’m not disappointed to have a couple more bottles but I’ll definitely be coordinating it with the right fare.

• Laz4wine commented:

  10/28/21, 6:08 AM - Had first of 2 yesterday, thanks for the detailed TN for reference, agree with both your and SF comments. The 2+ hrs decant certainly helped it open up at this point. Not one for the ages but quite solid and decent value for the ~$30 paid.

• sfwinelover1 commented:

  10/28/21, 7:10 AM - Laz, if you like Chiantis, I highly recommend csimm's favorite, the sorbo, which is several steps above *any* other chianti I've had (kind of like Quintarelli and Dal Forno with Amarones), really the only one which excels just as much without food as with. (I note that I'm not giving you any deep secret; the Sorbo is up to $85, even at Costco, for which you can buy many BdMs or close to a couple of Fontalloros.) btw, I'm finding that the Italian '13s are not unlike our Napas, great quality, but very highly structured, so make sure to air them out thoroughly.

• csimm commented:

  10/28/21, 7:49 AM - Hey Laz! Just saw your TN on this. Thanks for the update. I have a couple of bottles left and like SF mentioned regarding this vintage in particular, I’ve been trying to hold off on these 2013s a bit longer if I can. Sounds like this is progressing fairly nicely. Considering the QPR, it’s definitely a solid performer.

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