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Fontodi Vertical Dinner
Acquerello, San Francisco
Tasted April 23, 2008 by 5laton with 718 views
Introduction
A stellar evening of wines with Giovanni Manetti of Fontodi.
Flight 1 - Seated tasting (5 notes)
Red
2005 Fontodi Chianti Classico
Nose of smoked meat, animale, sour cherry. Gritty in the mouth, with good freshness and lively acid. This is primary now and dominated by juicy sour cherry. Less concentrated and less structured than the 2004, but be approachable sooner.
Red
1998 Fontodi Chianti Classico Riserva Vigna del Sorbo
Nose of saddle leather, animale, earth, with a grainy quality. Very dark fruit in the mouth, just starting to show tertiary development. Chewy tannins that still need to resolve further. This was really nice.
Red
2004 Fontodi Chianti Classico Riserva Vigna del Sorbo
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.
Red
2004 Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT
Lifted nose of red and black fruits, menthol, stemmy. Great meaty density in the mouth and beautiful structure. Chewy. Tight, but darkly fruited with some oak spice and fine acidity. This should be a beauty. If I owned any I'd be waiting at least five years to open a bottle.
Red
2003 Fontodi Syrah Case Via Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT
Nose of savory red fruits, some mineral notes, with time developing toward oak, with a strong mocha character. In the palate this is fairly jammy and is pushing that bruised-fruit level of ripeness. Probably my least favorite wine of the tasting.
Flight 2 - Herbed maltagliati with duck gizzard ragu (1 note)
Red
2004 Fontodi Chianti Classico
From magnum. Nose of ripe dark fruit, dried herbs, smoked ham, very appealing. Nice sour cherry on the palate, good typicity. Also some wood spice, which with time shows more strongly on the nose. Chewy tannins, a little tight. This is excellent but needs time to unwind.
Flight 3 - Intense mushroom risotto with its own insalatina di funghi (3 notes)
Red
1999 Fontodi Chianti Classico Riserva Vigna del Sorbo
From magnum. Soaring nose of saddle leather, quite funky, with ripe baked cherry. Mouthfilling, savory flavors of sour cherry, iron, blood. Expansive and concentrated midpalate, but wonderful acidity keeps this lively. Savory and utterly fantastic, and easily my favorite of these vintages of Sorbo.
Red
2000 Fontodi Chianti Classico Riserva Vigna del Sorbo
Nose of deli meats, bacon, high-toned but ripe red fruit, some asian spice. Tastes of rich, ripe cherry, clay/earth, with soft tannin that seems already partially resolved. Midpalate a little lacking compared to the 1999. Clearly riper and more matte than the 1999, this reminds me of the 2000 Anfiteatro tasted recently.
Red
2001 Fontodi Chianti Classico Riserva Vigna del Sorbo
Nose of oak spice, with fresh, elegant red fruit, clay, cherry. Distinct clay component on the palate, with macerated cherries. Very penetrating, with good acidity and some astringency from unresolved tannin. This should be outstanding, but needs time.
Flight 4 - Seared breast of squab over braised swiss chard with house cured guanciale and fava beans (4 notes)
Red
1995 Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT
Savory nose, with rather insistent saddle leather and barnyard notes. Savory, smoky, and quite rustic on the palate with good acidity, but initially lacking in both fruit and body. However it really came alive with time in the glass, revealing layers of dried cherry fruit. Hard to read where this is going; if you have some I'd recommend checking in on it.
Red
1998 Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT
From magnum. Savory, with saddle leather, game and rich cherry. Nice balance of savory elements with dusty dried cherry fruit and iron on the palate, and impressive weight. A little shy on acid, but I love the savory notes on the finish. Still a somewhat chewy mouthfeel from tannin, but this is drinking well now.
Red
1999 Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT
From magnum. Savory, with some barnyard and gorgeous meaty aromas, really a wow old-school nose. Super palate, with rich cherry fruit, iron and cured meat flavors, and much finer acidity acid compared to the '95, '98 or '00. Less concentrated than the '00, but a much more balanced, interesting wine. Excellent wine, and my favorite of these four vintages.
Red
2000 Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT
Superripe nose of rich, dark purply fruit. Rich and nearly liqueurlike on the palate, with a truckload of dry extract and remarkably soft tannins. This was the sexpot among the vintages of this wine on the table, lacking the balance and fine acidity of the '99 while retaining a voluptuous charm of its own. While I prefer a more classic style, it does seem pretty typical for the vintage.
Flight 5 - Grilled and braised beef Harris Ranch beef cheeks, green lentils with English peas and baby carrots (1 note)
Red
2001 Fontodi Syrah Case Via Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT
Remarkably rich and quite ripe, with a fascinating nose that shows notes of cured meats, pepperoni and menthol. While less fresh than the Flaccianello from this vintage, this has intensity and drive, and stunning length. It pushes my limits on ripeness, but never quite crosses over to the dark side. This is probably the first Italian syrah I've found compelling.
Flight 6 - Flourless chocolate cake with brandied cherry sauce (1 note)
White - Sweet/Dessert
1999 Fontodi Vin Santo del Chianti Classico
Lifted aromas of nuts, apricots, honey. Lightly oxidative, incredibly rich and mouthfilling. Great integration, no alcohol sticking out like I often find with these wines. A wonderful way to end this tasting.