This is at the perfect stage of evolution with a combination of youthful black cherry fruit that contrasts against the more aged elements of tobacco, leather and fig. The classic anise laced herbs seen in Tuscany add a beautiful fragrance. The complexity is impressive with minerals and chalk adding additional layers. I think this is an outstanding wine and if you have it, drink now.
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This was punching way over its weight. Wow. My note from 2012 could have been written tonight, and even the snobbiest chiantiophiles out there, if they tasted this blind, would have admired it.
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Color still good; getting a bit rusty around the edges. No longer fresh and any btls should be drunk soon. Still some fruit but being overcome by the still present tanins.
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The color of the wine was a slightly rusty red color with light edges. The nose was dusty Sangiovese with medium fruit of cherry and strawberry and some alcohol. Flavors were a bit washed out – probably that the bottle had past its prime but flavors were nice and fruity with lots of dust. The finish was a very nice and smooth dusty tannin.
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On first opening the nose shows wet earth, mineral, leather and pie cherries. The palate fires off with ripe tart red fruit and raspberry with a tart leather finish.
One hour later the nose is featuring pie cherry and Asian spices. The palate is primarily tart pie cherries with a very dry tart cedar finish.
One day later the nose shows dark red cherries and asian cedar spices. The palate is juicy red cherries full of tartness that ends with a very dry finish.
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Smells of alcohol, chemicals, cherries, red currants & raisins. Tastes of red fruits (cherries). Slightly sweet & very high acidity. Medium Bodied. Better Italian table wine than Ruffino Chianti Classico Riserva Ducale.
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Everything a $20 chianti classico should be. Unmanipulated, undemanding, distinctive. Bodes well for the other serious offerings from the 2006 Berardenga district.
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High acid, you bet--it's sangiovese. This also needs a little air, I've learned, so I decanted 2/3 of the bottle into a half-liter carafe. It didn't have the bitter finish even at the start, but it took a little while to open up. This is light to medium weight, very typical with a brick red color even at this age. Sour cherries, but smoothing out. A family pleaser--I threw together a puttanesca sauce and went heavy on the oil cured olives and anchovies, not to mention capers, and this was just fine. Probably not a long term ager, but it's not falling apart and it's gaining a little balance.
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The color was dark red, but translucent with some brick-red. I do not recall the scent of the wine, but the flavors were quite good. This was like a chianti "light": some fruit, some tannins and a hint of earthy spice, but all of them were more subdued than I would expect from a traditional chianti. It was medium bodied and had a respectable finish. For the money it was great.
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Solid chianti, had a bitter aftertaste at first, then transitioned to traditional sour cherry. Not a world-stopper, but something you can go back to. Had it with sausages and peppers.
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Very nice example of chianti. Good tannins. Nice earth. Fruit underneath. Also, held up quite nicely over a couple of days of vinuvac in the wine fridge.
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Drank over 3 days - consistent throughout. This is classic Chianti - tart cherry, leather, bracing acidity - very Tuscan Italian tasting. There was also some bitter oak on the finish that I wasn't to crazy about. Decent wine, but can do better Chianti at $15.
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Smells of dates, raisins, & slight paint thinner/petroleum. Tastes of plums, raisins, and red fruits (cherries). It was somewhat simple, but very enjoyable & balanced. Great Value.
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PnP drank some at lunch with a diavola pizza from Pizza Vita in Shorthills. Thought it was a fabulous chianti (pizza was great too).
Had the last half glass later that night. Color on the dark side for chianti. Earthy porcini and kirsch aroma. Medium weight with espresso tannins. Flavors mirror the aroma, Nice plummy mid-palate. Lingering finish of clover and sour cherries. I would guess (wrongly it turns out) it has some "other" grapes in the mix but still unmistakably italian. Very tasty.
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This is my go-to cheapo Chianti for Italian food pairing. Agreed it is one dimensional, but I like the vanilla oak & bing cherry flavors. Good acidity makes this very food friendly and a super QPR at 12 bucks a pop. Tannis were completely integrated....contrary to previous postings. Served with chicken marsala.
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Not sure if this was a bad bottle from Costco, but this was the worst Chianti (or Classico) that I have had in 2010/2011. I've enjoyed 2 or 3 dozen.
I popped it open on Valentine's to enjoy with my wife. On the nose my wife detected some type of household cleaner and I couldn't smell anything but alcohol. So I ran through the vinturi....twice, but nothing could mellow this one out. It was harsh and tannic and did not mellow after the vinturi or with time. Harsh and Tannic is the only way to describe the palate experience.
Even pairing it with a fantastic whole wheat spaghetti and (elk) meat sauce did not increase the enjoyment.
I really enjoy Chiantis and C. Classicos but this is one I'll avoid, I'll steer towards the Banfi Classicos or La Maia Lina...
A solid if not spectacular wine that for me comes off as being somewhat one-dimensional. Perhaps my recent forays into beautifully crafted California Syrah (Cabot and Bedrock) has skewed my view of other wines. While this may not be particularly fair to a wine like the '06 Castello di Bossi, it is what it is.
Don't get me wrong. This is a fine bottle of wine that pairs nicely with a bit of pasta. However, it is difficult to get worked-up over this Chianti when you are coming off your first experience with Cabot's Humboldt Syrah - one of the more complex and truly fascinating wines I have had the opportunity to enjoy.
Okay, now that I have pimped Cali Syrah it's high time to focus and tell you that this Chianti is straight forward cherry and a bit of spice. More red cherries and some fairly gnarly tannins that offer some structure. As others have said, this is serviceable, but simple. Decent QPR, but probably not a wine to go out of your way for.
http://fearnowine.com/
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Medium ruby color. Nose of dry red cherry, sweet herbs (as close to a real 'Ricola' fragrance as I've seen in awhile) and almond oil. Very pretty. Light to medium bodied on the palate with pretty floral notes, light woodsiness and quite a bit of fine tannins on the finish. Reminded me of a good VNdM, with a light hand.
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Ruby colored, fast legs. Light earthy nose. Dry on palate with earthy tone, good amount of tannins, some citrus. Medium finish with more of the same and a little metallic tinge on the sides of the tongue. Was decent with pasta & chicken.
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Nice light ruby color. Nose of anise, cherry, and menthol. Very light on the tongue with cherry dominating. Dry as one might expect, with crisp acidity and a nice tannic snap. Not too hot on the alcohol.
Pretty one dimensional but tasty at this price point. Pairs well with a red sauce as one might expect.
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Unlike other reviewers, I find this to be a simple, basic wine. The nose is black cherry, vanilla, and a licorice-like pungent note. I taste cherry, followed by vanilla, earth, and grainy tannins. I don't detect any barnyard funk or anything unusual or interesting.
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Upon opening, I could understand some of the tasting notes written before mine. The nose was a frontal assault of fruit and the palate followed with an odd citrus note that threw off my red wine sensors.. but with an hour of air in bottle, this really started to show some classic chianti classico features.
The color of this wine was a deep ruby red that turned a burnt orange at the rim. The nose is very traditional as you are hit with sour cherry, barnyard, saddle leather and black pepper. On the palate I found an initial burst of red fruit with a hint of orange peel, which turned sweet and full on the mid palate. The finish showed roasted chestnut and cigar box.
I can't help but call this wine classic, traditional... Italian. This IS Chianti Classico.
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Great clove, earth, and sour cherry aromatics. Sour cherry acidic taste that turned really lemony on an ok fiinsh. White wine is allowed in chianti...is there white wine in this one?
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Decanted for about 2-3 hours and enjoyed with pasta. This is a food wine with bracing acidity. Some cherries and spice and a reasonably long finish. Could be a bit more balanced, but still quite nice.
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Chianti through and through. Enticing, provincial and maddeningly inconsistent. There are two diametrically opposed types of funk on the nose. One so earthy so enticing mushroom, petting zoo and some sort of fresh herb, I even want to say basil because of a minty freshness. Then there's a second funk as if they forgot to rinse all of the detergent out of the vats or the glue from the labeling process accidentally spilled in. It's like huh? Great red fruit. Lovely strawberries. Some tartness and then the bad funk spoils the palate. Then a nice dry finish, but without much lingering, but for $15 not bad. Not a 90 like WS has it though.
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12/18/2020 - brettay Likes this wine: 94 Points
This is at the perfect stage of evolution with a combination of youthful black cherry fruit that contrasts against the more aged elements of tobacco, leather and fig. The classic anise laced herbs seen in Tuscany add a beautiful fragrance. The complexity is impressive with minerals and chalk adding additional layers. I think this is an outstanding wine and if you have it, drink now.
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9/27/2019 - SharkyRubio Likes this wine:
Refreshing not so dry
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2/28/2018 - prospero Likes this wine:
This was punching way over its weight. Wow. My note from 2012 could have been written tonight, and even the snobbiest chiantiophiles out there, if they tasted this blind, would have admired it.
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5/3/2016 - John Nezlek wrote: 84 Points
Note: I use a rating scale for which 85 represents a very good wine.
Decent Chianti. Probably past its prime a bit, but far from dead. Nothing too dramatic
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3/12/2014 - Wbharris wrote: 81 Points
Leather.
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11/8/2013 - cstir Likes this wine: 87 Points
Very drinkable; nice balance, smoothness and flavor with modest complexity; average finish.
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4/19/2013 - jeff.robbins@cchmc.org wrote: 86 Points
Color still good; getting a bit rusty around the edges. No longer fresh and any btls should be drunk soon. Still some fruit but being overcome by the still present tanins.
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1/17/2013 - CCestaro wrote: 84 Points
Past prime...a muted, kind of dull nose and palate...some fruit...but just south of supermarket chianti...not age worthy at all and on the down slide
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11/20/2012 - wtianseter wrote: 88 Points
The color of the wine was a slightly rusty red color with light edges. The nose was dusty Sangiovese with medium fruit of cherry and strawberry and some alcohol. Flavors were a bit washed out – probably that the bottle had past its prime but flavors were nice and fruity with lots of dust. The finish was a very nice and smooth dusty tannin.
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10/21/2012 - nytiger wrote: 89 Points
very good chianti nice sangiovesse nose, bright flavors, very good finish
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10/4/2012 - 1800kidney wrote: 88 Points
solid chianti, bit woody
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8/31/2012 - nytiger wrote: 89 Points
excellent
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7/26/2012 - nytiger wrote: 89 Points
good chianti
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3/7/2012 - luchavino wrote: 86 Points
On first opening the nose shows wet earth, mineral, leather and pie cherries. The palate fires off with ripe tart red fruit and raspberry with a tart leather finish.
One hour later the nose is featuring pie cherry and Asian spices. The palate is primarily tart pie cherries with a very dry tart cedar finish.
One day later the nose shows dark red cherries and asian cedar spices. The palate is juicy red cherries full of tartness that ends with a very dry finish.
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2/28/2012 - Woodford wrote: 87 Points
Smells of alcohol, chemicals, cherries, red currants & raisins. Tastes of red fruits (cherries). Slightly sweet & very high acidity. Medium Bodied. Better Italian table wine than Ruffino Chianti Classico Riserva Ducale.
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1/23/2012 - prospero wrote:
Everything a $20 chianti classico should be. Unmanipulated, undemanding, distinctive. Bodes well for the other serious offerings from the 2006 Berardenga district.
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1/23/2012 - Not647f wrote: 89 Points
High acid, you bet--it's sangiovese. This also needs a little air, I've learned, so I decanted 2/3 of the bottle into a half-liter carafe. It didn't have the bitter finish even at the start, but it took a little while to open up. This is light to medium weight, very typical with a brick red color even at this age. Sour cherries, but smoothing out. A family pleaser--I threw together a puttanesca sauce and went heavy on the oil cured olives and anchovies, not to mention capers, and this was just fine. Probably not a long term ager, but it's not falling apart and it's gaining a little balance.
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12/23/2011 - jmathews Likes this wine: 89 Points
The color was dark red, but translucent with some brick-red. I do not recall the scent of the wine, but the flavors were quite good. This was like a chianti "light": some fruit, some tannins and a hint of earthy spice, but all of them were more subdued than I would expect from a traditional chianti. It was medium bodied and had a respectable finish. For the money it was great.
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12/4/2011 - drdecanto wrote: 83 Points
Leather. Dried fruit. Tobacco. High Acid. Not too pleasant. Paired OK with a pasta with tomato sauce, but not a wine to search out.
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10/25/2011 - Not647f wrote: 88 Points
Solid chianti, had a bitter aftertaste at first, then transitioned to traditional sour cherry. Not a world-stopper, but something you can go back to. Had it with sausages and peppers.
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10/15/2011 - kas wrote: 82 Points
not a fan
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10/13/2011 - joannevicious wrote: 87 Points
Very nice example of chianti. Good tannins. Nice earth. Fruit underneath. Also, held up quite nicely over a couple of days of vinuvac in the wine fridge.
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10/12/2011 - cstir wrote: 87 Points
Pleasant, soft texture and tannins; mild red fruit with balanced flavor; modest finish.
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9/8/2011 - PIntag wrote: 84 Points
Drank over 3 days - consistent throughout. This is classic Chianti - tart cherry, leather, bracing acidity - very Tuscan Italian tasting. There was also some bitter oak on the finish that I wasn't to crazy about. Decent wine, but can do better Chianti at $15.
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8/25/2011 - Woodford Likes this wine: 90 Points
Smells of dates, raisins, & slight paint thinner/petroleum. Tastes of plums, raisins, and red fruits (cherries). It was somewhat simple, but very enjoyable & balanced. Great Value.
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8/20/2011 - df1962 wrote: 90 Points
PnP drank some at lunch with a diavola pizza from Pizza Vita in Shorthills. Thought it was a fabulous chianti (pizza was great too).
Had the last half glass later that night. Color on the dark side for chianti. Earthy porcini and kirsch aroma. Medium weight with espresso tannins. Flavors mirror the aroma, Nice plummy mid-palate. Lingering finish of clover and sour cherries. I would guess (wrongly it turns out) it has some "other" grapes in the mix but still unmistakably italian. Very tasty.
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8/14/2011 - drunkstar wrote:
Not impressed this time round...lost a lot of the freshness ...tasted tired ...the sourness had progressed to far....sad
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5/20/2011 - crux wrote: 88 Points
Forgot to review. Sour fruit, grainy mouthfeel. Not too exciting.
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5/14/2011 - brian przyzycki wrote: 88 Points
This is my go-to cheapo Chianti for Italian food pairing. Agreed it is one dimensional, but I like the vanilla oak & bing cherry flavors. Good acidity makes this very food friendly and a super QPR at 12 bucks a pop. Tannis were completely integrated....contrary to previous postings. Served with chicken marsala.
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5/9/2011 - apmarques wrote: 82 Points
nice wine. ready to drink. typical chianti
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4/26/2011 - bkrup wrote: 87 Points
Nose of wild cherries with cherry and vanilla oak on the palate and a fairly long finish. Enjoyable.
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4/25/2011 - Briangray77 wrote: 85 Points
That's being generous.
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4/23/2011 - eastover wrote:
Popped and poured - might have shown better with a little time. Paired with eggplant parm and meatballs - just fine.
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2/14/2011 - bajabum wrote: 70 Points
Not sure if this was a bad bottle from Costco, but this was the worst Chianti (or Classico) that I have had in 2010/2011. I've enjoyed 2 or 3 dozen.
I popped it open on Valentine's to enjoy with my wife. On the nose my wife detected some type of household cleaner and I couldn't smell anything but alcohol. So I ran through the vinturi....twice, but nothing could mellow this one out. It was harsh and tannic and did not mellow after the vinturi or with time. Harsh and Tannic is the only way to describe the palate experience.
Even pairing it with a fantastic whole wheat spaghetti and (elk) meat sauce did not increase the enjoyment.
I really enjoy Chiantis and C. Classicos but this is one I'll avoid, I'll steer towards the Banfi Classicos or La Maia Lina...
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12/16/2010 - smokeshowing wrote: 83 Points
A solid if not spectacular wine that for me comes off as being somewhat one-dimensional. Perhaps my recent forays into beautifully crafted California Syrah (Cabot and Bedrock) has skewed my view of other wines. While this may not be particularly fair to a wine like the '06 Castello di Bossi, it is what it is.
Don't get me wrong. This is a fine bottle of wine that pairs nicely with a bit of pasta. However, it is difficult to get worked-up over this Chianti when you are coming off your first experience with Cabot's Humboldt Syrah - one of the more complex and truly fascinating wines I have had the opportunity to enjoy.
Okay, now that I have pimped Cali Syrah it's high time to focus and tell you that this Chianti is straight forward cherry and a bit of spice. More red cherries and some fairly gnarly tannins that offer some structure. As others have said, this is serviceable, but simple. Decent QPR, but probably not a wine to go out of your way for.
http://fearnowine.com/
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12/14/2010 - dougsmith wrote: 90 Points
Medium ruby color. Nose of dry red cherry, sweet herbs (as close to a real 'Ricola' fragrance as I've seen in awhile) and almond oil. Very pretty. Light to medium bodied on the palate with pretty floral notes, light woodsiness and quite a bit of fine tannins on the finish. Reminded me of a good VNdM, with a light hand.
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12/10/2010 - Jmosser wrote: 86 Points
Ruby colored, fast legs. Light earthy nose. Dry on palate with earthy tone, good amount of tannins, some citrus. Medium finish with more of the same and a little metallic tinge on the sides of the tongue. Was decent with pasta & chicken.
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11/30/2010 - kas wrote: 85 Points
ok, but nothing special
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11/27/2010 - mos wrote: 88 Points
Nice light ruby color. Nose of anise, cherry, and menthol. Very light on the tongue with cherry dominating. Dry as one might expect, with crisp acidity and a nice tannic snap. Not too hot on the alcohol.
Pretty one dimensional but tasty at this price point. Pairs well with a red sauce as one might expect.
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10/27/2010 - rmalloy wrote: 87 Points
Unlike other reviewers, I find this to be a simple, basic wine. The nose is black cherry, vanilla, and a licorice-like pungent note. I taste cherry, followed by vanilla, earth, and grainy tannins. I don't detect any barnyard funk or anything unusual or interesting.
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9/26/2010 - rossnross wrote: 90 Points
A very nice Chianti for the money.
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9/9/2010 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 90 Points
This bottle simply requires patience.
Upon opening, I could understand some of the tasting notes written before mine. The nose was a frontal assault of fruit and the palate followed with an odd citrus note that threw off my red wine sensors.. but with an hour of air in bottle, this really started to show some classic chianti classico features.
The color of this wine was a deep ruby red that turned a burnt orange at the rim. The nose is very traditional as you are hit with sour cherry, barnyard, saddle leather and black pepper. On the palate I found an initial burst of red fruit with a hint of orange peel, which turned sweet and full on the mid palate. The finish showed roasted chestnut and cigar box.
I can't help but call this wine classic, traditional... Italian. This IS Chianti Classico.
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8/8/2010 - GrapeApe808 wrote: 87 Points
Great clove, earth, and sour cherry aromatics. Sour cherry acidic taste that turned really lemony on an ok fiinsh. White wine is allowed in chianti...is there white wine in this one?
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6/13/2010 - Matt T wrote: 88 Points
Decanted for about 2-3 hours and enjoyed with pasta. This is a food wine with bracing acidity. Some cherries and spice and a reasonably long finish. Could be a bit more balanced, but still quite nice.
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5/18/2010 - rmartin031 wrote: 88 Points
Decent chianti for the price, but could do better
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4/9/2010 - jesran wrote: 88 Points
Chianti through and through. Enticing, provincial and maddeningly inconsistent. There are two diametrically opposed types of funk on the nose. One so earthy so enticing mushroom, petting zoo and some sort of fresh herb, I even want to say basil because of a minty freshness. Then there's a second funk as if they forgot to rinse all of the detergent out of the vats or the glue from the labeling process accidentally spilled in. It's like huh? Great red fruit. Lovely strawberries. Some tartness and then the bad funk spoils the palate. Then a nice dry finish, but without much lingering, but for $15 not bad. Not a 90 like WS has it though.
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1/16/2010 - drunkstar wrote: 88 Points
perfectly lovely chianti.....fresh, pleasantly sour.....blossomed in the glass with time...a bargain
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