Sadly, this was corked.
Ruby in color, clear and bright. The nose has a "dusty attic" quality to it along with cherries. Light bodied. On the palate, light tannins. Cherries turning a bit candied on the finish. Good acidity. This is a bit lighter in style but still true to its Chianti roots. Better with food than on its own. This would be nice with a creamy Tuscan Chicken dish.
Back when the 1997 vintage was released, there was a lot of fanfare and hype. Some bought into it and some didn't. But, the prices rose dramatically and at the time, this was one of the better values in Brunello (around $40). I was curious how well this held up. Sadly, after all this time, the bottle was corked (TCA). What a shame.
Arguably, as good as Chianti gets, the Vigna del Sorbo is classified as a Gran Selezione. At age 11, this is still quite young and needs a bit of air. Deep purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright. The nose has cherries, black cherries, tea leaves, sandalwood and spice. Full bodied. Firm tannins. Great acidity. On the palate, this is tight but delicious. It takes a few hours to open and then drinks quite well. It is great on its own but even better with some food. It would be great with a big plate of Spaghetti and Meatballs. Drink over the next twenty years.
This seemed to be at peak. Ruby in color with a touch of bricking, mostly clear and bright. The nose is nice with cherries, slight black cherries, some dried cherries, slight sandalwood and tea leaves. Medium bodied. A good backbone of acidity. On the palate, some depth and complexity. Flavors of cherries, sandalwood and char. Nice finish. This needs food to really shine. It would work great with pasta or pizza and I enjoyed it with Eggplant Rotini. Drink up.
One of my evil guilty pleasures is to put this on the table with non wine geeks and see if they drink it. Usually, they don't, but the ones who do are impressed. Some will just see that it is a Chianti and think it can't be any good. This is possibly the best that Chianti offers and certainly one of the top wines that Italy offers. Although expensive, given that, it is priced fairly. At age 10, this is still young and needs more air though with a few hours, it drank well. Deep garnet with purple streaks, mostly opaque and bright. The nose is great with black cherries, cherries, black