Bought on auction recently. Bottle and cork in perfect condition. Medium to dark garnet colour, some fine sediment. Red fruit, dried fruit, cherry, prune, blood orange, earth, tobacco, hints of coffee and chocolate, spices, and cinnamon, with lively acidity, partly resolved tannin, and very good length of the lightly drying finish. Good structure. Classic, light Sangiovese rusticity, in a good way. Drinks very well. I liked it! Will not fall apart anytime soon, but will not improve any further either. Drink now.
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A little musty at first, I was worried (I seem to have had a lot of corked Felsina from last century) but it wasn’t TCA, and whatever it was blew off. And it turned out to be better than I ever hoped. Rich black plum and cherry, saddle leather, earth, a touch of incense. Sweet and lush, drinking great. Big surprise was the last glass was still pretty good next day (I don’t think Sangiovese fares well in general with long exposure). At peak (hour after opening). A-
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A good, but not great, Riserva. It has held up well, but lacks the vibrancy you would expect from a well-made Riserva. On the other hand, this is on the down-slope of its life.
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Really quite good. Probably a but over the hill, but still showing strong. Started surprisingly fruity, but after some air this changed to more leather notes.
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Previous notes indicate the 88 Rancia is no longer drinking well. AG recently posted rave notes on it from a bottle stored at the winery from release. Reality, such as it is, is somewhere in between. This bottle was in a lovely place-- extremely well balanced with notes of dried cherries, chocolate, leather, earth, and spice. To like it as much as AG, I would've hoped for more fruit, particularly on the nose.
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Science Closet night at Volterra. The Rancia, recently purchased from an impeccable cellar, was my first experience with a fully mature Chianti. It came out of the bottle with a bouquet of balsamico and dirt and an incredibly fresh attack of dried cherry, earth and spice. As it opened in the glass we enjoyed evolving stages of sweeter fruit, roses, classic tar and leather. The wine had great freshness and energy and it absolutely killed with everything on the table including guanciale, boar, braised pig jowls and chicken diavola.
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4/6/2022 - PSPatrick wrote: 92 Points
Bought on auction recently. Bottle and cork in perfect condition. Medium to dark garnet colour, some fine sediment. Red fruit, dried fruit, cherry, prune, blood orange, earth, tobacco, hints of coffee and chocolate, spices, and cinnamon, with lively acidity, partly resolved tannin, and very good length of the lightly drying finish. Good structure. Classic, light Sangiovese rusticity, in a good way. Drinks very well. I liked it! Will not fall apart anytime soon, but will not improve any further either. Drink now.
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6/14/2021 - DaleW wrote:
A little musty at first, I was worried (I seem to have had a lot of corked Felsina from last century) but it wasn’t TCA, and whatever it was blew off. And it turned out to be better than I ever hoped. Rich black plum and cherry, saddle leather, earth, a touch of incense. Sweet and lush, drinking great. Big surprise was the last glass was still pretty good next day (I don’t think Sangiovese fares well in general with long exposure). At peak (hour after opening). A-
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11/11/2018 - KB4par wrote:
Drank with Tom
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10/20/2015 - cortoncharlie wrote: 88 Points
this bottle was good but nothing special.
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7/28/2014 - ovenmitt wrote: 89 Points
Enjoyable, but getting a little tired.... Drink that last one soon ;)
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7/24/2014 - Pearls_b4Swine wrote: flawed
Spoiled
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12/29/2013 - GTFreek wrote: flawed
Nope. Gone.
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10/23/2013 - Pearls_b4Swine wrote: 92 Points
A good, but not great, Riserva. It has held up well, but lacks the vibrancy you would expect from a well-made Riserva. On the other hand, this is on the down-slope of its life.
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4/6/2013 - youngjc1 wrote: 92 Points
Really quite good. Probably a but over the hill, but still showing strong. Started surprisingly fruity, but after some air this changed to more leather notes.
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1/12/2013 - JP wrote: 93 Points
Previous notes indicate the 88 Rancia is no longer drinking well. AG recently posted rave notes on it from a bottle stored at the winery from release. Reality, such as it is, is somewhere in between. This bottle was in a lovely place-- extremely well balanced with notes of dried cherries, chocolate, leather, earth, and spice. To like it as much as AG, I would've hoped for more fruit, particularly on the nose.
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10/4/2009 - SageCellarage wrote:
mature nose. Smooth with long finish
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2/12/2009 - greenblanket wrote:
Science Closet night at Volterra. The Rancia, recently purchased from an impeccable cellar, was my first experience with a fully mature Chianti. It came out of the bottle with a bouquet of balsamico and dirt and an incredibly fresh attack of dried cherry, earth and spice. As it opened in the glass we enjoyed evolving stages of sweeter fruit, roses, classic tar and leather. The wine had great freshness and energy and it absolutely killed with everything on the table including guanciale, boar, braised pig jowls and chicken diavola.
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11/23/2008 - 60ouvrees wrote:
Very nice Chianti at peak maturity.
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