7/30/2023 - mike410 wrote:

Below average for a Muga. Not as enjoyable as older vintages.

4/4/2023 - Rote Kappelle Likes this wine:

I am a bit troubled by some of the reviews of this wine and this vintage. It is not because some reviewers clearly don't think much of the wine - like music, if you like it, or don't like it - 'de gustibus non est disputandum'. The negative reviews also clearly make an effort to identify what they are unhappy with and they are not identifying things that are not there etc., so that is fine.

What troubles me, deeply, is what I perceive to be a lack of understanding, or appreciation of what Chianti Classico is and the lineage and stature of this particular maker and this particular wine and vintage.

I do not advocate for some kind of slavish deference to the great and the good. Great wineries make some awful crap from time to time and they should be called out without fear or favour. I also don't advocate for the drinker to not state their preference or subjective feeling about the wine.

However, I perceive, rightly or wrongly, that comments like 'at the end of the day I have to stay with Cabs' (no argument with a personal preference) suggest a total lack of respect for, or knowledge of what is being consumed. As do the comments that the wine is 'kind of boring' or that it is 'austere'.

Chianti Classico should be all about the character of Sangiovese and the soil from which it comes. It should be relatively light bodied, with plenty of fresh but not sour acid, firm but fine and ripe tannins and it should express aromas and flavours of crisp, red cherry, perhaps a little pomegranate, some floral elements (suggestive of roses) and some earth/smoke/tar. It is made to compliment food. This wine has excellent length and intensity as befits the vintage and it ticks all the Sangiovese boxes. I was excited by this wine and its purity.

Now, I love the characteristics of Chianti Classico made to reflect the traditions of the Sangiovese grape; others may not. However, this wine is stunningly successful at providing exemplary Sangiovese characteristics. As such, whether one likes it or not, this should be recognised.

I also loved the fact that this wine is so fresh and almost crunchy fruited despite being from the 2019 vintage, which magnificent as it is, often has one weakness - relative lack of fresh acid. But it still has the ripeness, fleshiness and quality of this year. The wine may seem 'austere' compared to a Chateauneuf de Pape, or an Oz Shiraz, or a Tuscan IGT with a wallop of Merlot and oak, but in a big year, from some of the best vineyards in the heart of Chianti Classico, in its own terms, austere this is not.

Let's also remember that this maker is regarded as one of the brightest stars in the Chianti Classico region, respected for the way they express the typicity of Chianti. This is not Korean Shiraz, or Congolese Pinot or some other surprising and possibly dodgy wine style; this is one of the great wines styles of the world. Again, that doesn't mean you have to pretend you like it but I think it does mean we should show some respect - 'kind of boring'? No issue with saying 'Not really my thing' or similar.

Let's also remember the price of the wine. You are getting great PQR here for a truly exceptional Chianti Classico.

Before I wrote this, I decided to see what other people who know their Chianti had to say about the maker and the wine. Nicolas (possibly nicker less after a few bottles of Classico) Belfrage, MW writes of 'One of Chianti Classico's most illustrious and historic estates' and of the CC he writes of its fruit and fragrance and firm backbone. Nesto, MW and di Savino write of the CC that the way it is made and its provenance 'bring the taster directly into the flavour and sensorial world of Chianti Classico - cherries, refreshing tartness and a sharp edge of astringency'. They are not falling asleep whilst drinking this, or finding it thin and nasty.

The wine does benefit from time open and, whilst I loved the wine from the moment the cork came out, it will put on some body with about 6-8 hours open. It is humming the next day as well.

No-one has to like this, but let's try to understand it. The negative reviews are not wrong, they are not mis-identifying things (for the most part), but I do think they suggest a lack of effort. The reason the wine was recommended by Josh at the wineshop was probably because he understood that this was a superb wine of its kind and worth trying so as to expand one's boundaries. I like Cabernet, too.