Sangiovese

Ruby with garnet (darker) swirls, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is dusty with spice.  WIth air some black cherry fruit emerges.  Medium bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, black cherries and cherries.  Great texture.  Very ripe.  Not a lot of depth though.  Easy drinking right now.  Drink over the next five to seven years.  Will work well with Ribollita, a Tuscan soup.  

This is an outstanding wine, but it didn't deliver what I was looking for on this evening.  The folks I was drinking it with felt otherwise and it was there favorite wine (tasted blind).  Ruby in color with dark swirls, mostly clear and bright.  The nose hasw black raspberries, black cherries, baking spice and roasted herbs.  Full bodied with firm tannins.  On the palate, this has black cherry fruit.  It seems deep but not giving up much.  With air some black raspberries and even blueberries emerge.  Hard to get past the tannins.  Firm finish.  This needs some time to come together and open

Ruby in color with blacks swirls, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is very deep.  Spices, black cherries and slight cough drop notes.  On the palate, lots of black cherry fruit and firm tannins.  Good balance.  Nice finish.  This needs a few more years to develop and come together and should drink well for another ten to fifteen after that.  Lots of upside on cellaring this.  It will work well with heavier meat based dishes such as Pappardelle al cinghiale (Pasta with wild Boar).  

Ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is dusty with some cherries.  Some wet tea leaves come out with air.  On the palate, cherries and black cherries over some damp forest floor.  Good balance.  More "traditional" in style.  This should improve with some short terms ageing.  Drink over the next ten to twelve years.  This would work well with chicken liver pâté (or is that chopped liver).  

Ruby in color with dark swirls.  Mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is dusty with light cherries and some spice.  On the palate, nice cherry fruit.  A bit hollow on the mid-palate but finishes strong.  This is drinking well but will undoubtedly improve a bit with cellaring.  Drink over the next ten years.  It will work well with one of those delcious Tuscan soups such as Acquacotta.

Always a favorite.  Ruby/brown in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is very tight and even with a couple hours of air, it remained so.  Some forest floor and hint of cherries and spice.  Much more open on the palate.  Big textural wine.  Lots of cherries and black cherries.  Some underlying tea.  Good acidity.  Moderate finish.  Stylistically, this is what I think of when I think of Brunello.  It might still improve so holding for a couple years is a good idea and drink over the next seven to ten after that.  This would work well with pasta such as potato tortelli.

Ruby in color with some browning, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is dusty with black cherries.  Some tea leaves.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, kirsch and fresh cherries.  Good acidity.  This is drinking well now and probably should be consumed in the next five to seven years.  A nice wine with pizza or pasta.  

This had been open for two days when I tried a glass but was still showing well.  Ruby in color with slight browning, but clear and bright.  The nose had cherries and some brown sugar.  It was, however, drinking much better on the palate.  Medium tasnnins.  Therre is a cherry cough drop quality which lends a seriousness to the wine but also tastes good, a bit or kirsch and spice.  Clean.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  After two days open it seems like it had opened and was just starting to have too much air.  Probably best to wait a few years and then drink over the following ten to twelve. 

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

What a great vintage 2016 ha turned out to be for Chianti in general and this one in particular.  Not the cheapest Chianti, but this is outstanding.  Deep ruby/purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is great with cherries, black cherries, sandalwood and tea leaves.  Medium bodied.  Great balance.  Lovely acidity.  Spry.  On the palate, lots of lush black cherry fruit with underlying forest floor.  Clean.  Deep.  Long finish.  This will continue to mature for another five to eight years and drink well for a decade after that.  A nice match for pasts of all kinds.