Sangiovese

From the excellent 2006 vintage, this seemed to be just about at peak.  Pop and pour.  Deep garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is lovely with dark cherries, slight plums, tea leaves, dust and spice.  Full bodied.  Tannins about resolved, maybe some wispy ones left.  On the palate, cherries and black cherries with some dried fruits.  Complex and layered with forest floor/tea leaves and spice.  Good acidity.  Long finish.  This drinks well on its own, but would work better with food.  A nice match would be a Lasagna.  Drink over the next five to ten years. 

Cantina di Montalcino is the only cooperative in the Brunello DOCG.  It has just under 100 members who are for the most part, small vineyard owners.  This is an excellent wine and don't be afraid of buying from a co-op.  The vintage, 2017, was hot and dry, and the wines produced were more generous and flashy than a more typical vintage.  The wine is purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black cherries, dried cherries, cigar tobacco, spice and slight char.  Full bodied with medium to firm tannins.  On the palate, cherries, black cherries with som

The idea of a Super Tuscan wine has been around for decades, but they tend to be a higher price point. So in 1993 Carpineto launch they value version, Dogajolo. This wine offers good tannic structure and acidity. This leads to notes of blackberry, black cherry, light blueberry with soft strawberry, pomegranate and huckleberry. These fruits are muted though, not overt and jammy - the fruit is balanced with the oak, acids and tannins so the wine is ideal for food.

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.  

This is 100% Sangiovese, which when it was released, did not qualify to call itself Chianti (the rule has since been changed), so it was released as a Super Tuscan.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose has cherries, tea leaves, spice and dust.  Full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this has a nice complexity.  Cherries with underlying forest floor.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  This will work better with food.  Pasta or pizza would be great.  Probably past prime, so drink up soon.  

Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, dust, dried cedar and slight spice.  Medium bodied. Wispy tannins.  On the palate, this has a nice complexity to it.  Layers of dried cherries, cherries and forest floor.  Good acidity.  Good finish.  This is past prime and on the way down, so drink sooner than later.  It is better with food.  A nice plate of pasta with a tomato sauce would work well.  

How long does a good, if not great, Chianti last?  This bottle was bought on release and cellared since.  The fill was just into the neck of the bottle.  Pop and pour (carefully).  Purple in color with some ruby swirls, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose was complex with cherries, slight dried cherries, forest floor and slight spice.  Full bodied.  Tannins integrated.  On the palate, this is fresh and vibrant.  Fully mature.  Ripe cherry and slight sour cherry fruit along with a bit of sandalwood.  Some depth and complexity.  Nice finish.  Blind I would have though about seven to ten years

This seemed to be a step above the 2017 although both were quite good. Ruby/purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cherries, dust, char and spice.  Medium to full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, cherries, tart cherries and slight chocolate notes.  Good finish.  This needs a few years of cellaring to hit peak though it drinks well now.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  A nice wine to match with Pasta with Bolognese sauce.  

This now carries a Gran Selezione status (and price tag).  Purple in color with some ruby swirls.  The nose has cherries, forest floor, dust and slight anise.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, bright cherry fruit.  Deep.  On the palate, cherries and slight plums with some underlying forest floor.  Good acidity.  Long finish. A very pretty Chianti.  It is drinking well but should continue to for another ten to fifteen years.  Better with food.  Ribolitte (Vegetable stew) would be a great dinner match.  

One of the classic great wines in the Antinori stable.  It is a blend of 80% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc.  This was essentially pop and pour and which it showed well, it underperformed expectations.  It seems likely given the history of this wine that it needs more cellar time/air.  Deep ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has dust, cherries, but also a slight aquarium note which can often mean poor storage conditions at some point in shipping or retail.  Light tannins.  Good acidity.  On the palate, nice cherry fruit with a tart finish.  Probably