2001 Viticcio Chianti Classico Riserva

This is a revisit of one of my favorite Chianti Classicos and it did not disappoint at all!

Rich red color with oak and earthy notes up front with the very well integrated dark berry and lighter cherry notes lurking just behind. Minerally and smooth with fine tannins and a long finish.

Lovely….. A!

2006 Querciabella Mongrana - Maremma, Tuscany

Back in April I wrote about the 2005 Mongrana from Querciabella, a new wine made in Tuscanny’s Maremma region by these venerable Chianti producers. The 2005 was their first vintage and they have since released their 2006.

This edition is garnet colored with dark berry and oak aromas with an earthy underbrush character as well. Fruits come across as dark cherry, blackberry and possibly blueberry.

There’s actually quite a bit going on aromatically with this wine.

It’s a bit astringent and very dry on the taste and texture but it has a lush feel and a long finish.

This is a good wine and is still at an affordable price.

This particular bottle was $15 at Garnet on the Upper East Side although they may be out of stock at the moment.

Personally I think this is a good wine and I’m pleased that Querciabella has produced another solid QPR wine in its second vintage.

2000 Poggio Antico Altero – Brunello di Montalcino – Tuscany

This is reddish brown in color. The nose is cedar infused with blueberry and tabac with hints of leather. All lend the wine a “smoky” character.

Soft, elegant with sweet tannins and a long finish.

Excellent wine which was picked up for $40 a bottle off of Wines Til Sold Out.

Not a bad price for a Brunello nowadays.

2005 Querciabella Mongrana - Maremma, Tuscany

The 2005 Mongrana from Querciabella was a real find for me. I’ve been a big fan of their Chianti Classico since 2004 when I had my first bottle and it hasn’t disappointment in any vintage I’ve had.

Last week I was in a relatively non-descript wine-shop in Brooklyn and spotted the 2005 Mongrana for the first time for about $13 a bottle. I hadn’t seen it before but recognized the label as coming from Querciabella. I picked up a bottle and went home to do some research, discovering that this was the first vintage from Querciabella’s venture into the Maremma region of Tuscany which is know for being the home of some of the more famous Super-Tuscans such as Sassicia. True to the region, this is a blend of 50% Sangiovese, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot. Also true to these “Super-Tuscan” blends, it is labeled as a Toscana-IGT which is essentially table wine.

The wine itself is medium cherry in color with oak, dark fruit, blueberry, earthy but also with some subtle floral notes. Balanced with a nice soft texture, medium bodied, with a nice medium long finish. The dark fruit also lingers on the tongue.

This is nice work from a producer I traditionally like. As far as everyday drinking wines in this price range, this is excellent and has a fantastic price-per-quality ratio.

2004 Monsanto – Chianti Classico Riserva. – Tuscany

This is the best Chianti I’ve had in a long long time. A very classically styled wine.

When first opened, the 2004 Monsanto exhibits a very earthy and woodsy character that takes over for the first few moments. Then it begins to reveal the fruit and its red fruit more than anything else. Cherry. Raspberry to a lesser extent. A little later on the “woodsy-ness” recedes to reveal a more cigar box character. Medium bodied with a long finish. The wine is also minerally with bright acidity and nice balance.

This is an excellent wine and an A- for me. It can be had for $18 at Astor Wines.

Tasting Note: 2005 Greppicante – Bolgheri – Tuscany – Italy

Greppicante is a new wine venture in the Bolgheri region of Tuscany, Italy which is part owned by the Landini family of Fattoria Viticcio, makers of one of my favorite Chianti Classico wines.

Bolgheri is from the northern portion of Tuscany and the wine is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. This classic Bordeaux-type blend is more common in Bolgheri than it is in other regions of Tuscany.

The wine is rich ruby red in color with aromas of dark earthy fruits mixed in with leather and hints of oak. The fruits might be boysenberry or black currants but to be honest, I can’t really remember the last time I had boysenberries! There might also be a hint of tar. The bottom line is that there is a lot going on with this wine’s aromatics and others might be able to pick out different scents than me. The texture is tannic and slightly sharp but with a nice long finish. It could use a couple years bottle age but its enjoyable now and decanting definitely helps smooth it out. Excellent – A.

This wine was recently part of a weekend blowout sale at Zachys for $14 at which point I picked up a couple bottles. They are currently selling it for $22 which I still think is a decent value for a wine like this.

Mold in the Cellar…

… or at least on the boxes that contain some of my wine. I’m count myself incredible fortunate and blessed not only to have a wonderful wife who is very understanding and willing to put up with my wine habit but we also to have an actual cellar to keep it in. We have an unfinished basement in our house in Brooklyn which would seem ideal for wine storage and it almost is. But there are a couple of flaws.

* It can get a bit dry, especially in the winter with humidity hovering between 20% and 30% when the ideal for wine is 60% to 70%. This is partly due to the mechanics of the house which include the forced air unit to heat the house and the hot water heater. They are not near the wine but they do suck some moisture out of the air. Humidity during the summer is much better.

* The second flaw is the temperature range, moving from the 50s in the wintertime to the 80s in the summer time. However, it is a slow climb and it only hits the 80s when it’s 100+ outside.

There is also what might be considered a third “flaw” but it really is only a function of my stupidity. With an unfinished basement, there is little moisture protection on the floor. Hence, when flat objects are placed down directly on the porous cement, moisture gets trapped underneath and depending on the material (think cardboard or wood wine boxes here), mold can form.

You see where I’m going with this. (I must have missed that bio class in 7th grade when we talked about how mold forms.)

Once I figured this was happening, I pulled the three boxes that were on the bottom and checked out the damage. Two of the three boxes had mold on the bottom but none had made it to the bottles themselves. I threw out the boxes, placed the wine in new boxes and lifted them about 4 inches off the ground with bricks. I also did this with the third box but the mold had found its way onto some of the bottles.

I panicked because the wines affected were some of my favorites, namely Italian Brunello di Montalcinos. I wiped off the bottles and placed them in a new box, getting most of the visible mold off. But the bottles smelled and I was worried that the mold might have somehow made its way to the wine through the cork.

I opened one to find out. It was a 2001 Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino. I opened it and immediately poured the wine into a decanter to get it away from the affected bottle. I took the wine into the dinning room, set it down, and asked my wife to smell it. She detected nothing. All I could smell was the mold. Perplexing until I realized that I hadn’t washed my hands!!! After taking care of that, I went back to the wine and found no mold smell but the wine did seem somewhat closed. I started wondering if the mold had somehow muted the flavors of wine. I was at this point getting just a little worried. We had dinner, talked about other things, and then we went back to the wine. It had really opened up and smelled wonderful and ended up being a great bottle of Brunello! The mold had not won! The wine held up!!!

I’m still left with the unanswered question of whether the wines would have been affected if they had been left longer. Anyone?

I later checked tasting notes for the 2001 Caparzo Brunello online and read that it does indeed take some time to open up. As far as I could tell, the wine was unaffected and I don’t think I need to worry unduly about the other bottles.

So I sat back and enjoyed the bottle.

TN – One thing that stood out was that it went from being somewhat steely and minerally at first to soft and lush a couple hours later. Dark red in color. Somewhat leathery with dark fruit but also a touch of cherry to give it a little bit of brightness. Not too much but just enough. Bone dry texture with abundant tannins with a super long finish. Very well put together but it could stand at least a couple more years of age to soften up a bit more. Excellent overall. A-

Tasting Note: 2004 Viticcio Chianti Classico Riserva

I’m a fan of the Italian winery Viticcio, a fantastic producer situated in Greve, the region of Tuscany which produces mainly Chianti. I first found them with the 2001 vintage of their Riserva.

This is the 2004 Chianti Classico Riserva. It’s nearly black in color and filled with dark berry, tobacco, possibly leather, and is somewhat herbaceous. Overall, it has a lovely earthy aroma in my opinion. The texture is still a bit tannic right now. But it really coats the mouth and with a little bit of time in the bottle, it should turn lush and velvety. Long finish. This wine is only going to get better.

I got this on sale from Zachys for $23 and Garnet has the 2003 vintage for $22.

Like I mentioned, I’m a big fan of this wine. I think the Riserva is a fantastic wine for a fair price but their entry level Chianti Classico for anywhere from $10 to $15 is also one to check out.

Tasting Note: 2005 Querciabella Chianti Classico

I’ve had several vintages of this wine going back to 1998 or 1999 and this might be the best of all of them. I also tasted this and commented in September of this year.

Brick red color with a somewhat earthy and dark fruit aroma. Although it’s a mix of dark fruit, I think it’s the blackberry that comes out on top. There is also a gentle hint of spice surrounded by a cedar frame or structure. Mineral texture but also soft. Medium bodied with a long smooth finish. This wine has excellent balance and is a fantastic value for the $22 I spent on it at Garnet Wine. B+

2005 Poggio ai Ginepri - Bolgheri, Tuscany or my "baby Sassicaia" as I call it.

Before reading this wine note, keep in mind that the recommended date range to start drinking the 2005 Poggio ai Ginepri is 2010. I say this because when I first opened it with my friend Lisa to see what the wine was like, we both agreed it was good but somewhat “tight.” However, I put the cork back into the unfinished bottle and went back to it four days later and it was much more open and completely accessible and just plain good.

The wine itself, a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 25% Syrah was red brick in color with a very earthy (peat moss in particular) and herbal aroma. The earthiness lost some of its force after being open for a while but the herbal qualities remained. Also present were leather and light hints of smoke, both of which here enhanced with time. Medium bodies with a medium long finish. Shorter when first opened but much longer later. The texture was also very refined in a way. Somewhat “steely” but with fine tannins that suggest the quality down the road with some bottle age.

I call this wine a “baby Sassicaia” but only in my own home. It really has very little to do with the real Sassicaia other than coming from the Bolgheri region of Tuscany with the Poggio ai Ginepri being just south of Sassicaia. Also, I can afford the $18 for this bottle from Sherry Lehmann but not the $200 for the real thing.

Excellent solid B wine with room to improve.

2003 Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva

Sometimes I get swayed by the pretty pictures on the bottles. Such was the case with the 2003 Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva. Not so much that it’s a pretty label but the picture of the castle reminded me of my trip to Tuscany and the Chianti region.

A good Chianti will also take me back to the place in my memory as well. This wine worked just fine for that. It’s ruby colored and medium bodied with strong cedar and price notes mixed in with red fruit. (I need to brush up on my red fruits to figure out exactly what was there.) Nice medium long finish and good balance between the tannins and acidity.

I liked it and thought it was a solid B. With the rising prices of European wines because of the weak dollar, I also thought the price was relatively speaking, ok. It was $17 from Garnet Wines on the Upper East Side.

Wine From My Scrapbook...

From my scapebook...

2006 Inman Family – Rose of Pinot Noir
Rose pink in color. Bright with a berry bouquet. Strawberry or raspberry in the berry. Because of the Pinot Noir grape, I think it has more body than most roses. Balance between sugar and acidity is nice. Healthy bosy for a rose. Very nice. (Solid B)

2005 Querciabella Chianti Classico
Dark rudy red color with aromas of red cherry, cedar, and tabac. All very well integrated. Bright and smooth in texture. Light, resfreshing zip of acidity. Medioum long finish. Very nice. (B)

2003 Viticcio Chianti Classico Riserva Lucius (Italy-Tuscany)

The 2003 Lucius is a Chianti Classico from Viticcio, makers of what is one of my favorite Chianti’s, their Riserva.

The difference between the two… This one is sees more in oak. That is the basic difference. Does that make it a better wine for me? Well, it’s different and a nice departure from what I’m used to.

The wine is dark red in color. The oak really comes through on the palate with an oak/cedar aromatic blend but there is also noticeable “big” fruit underneath. Blueberry is predominant but lighter notes of cherry, plum, & prune lay underneath. Maybe the prune notes are possible result of the unusually hot 2003 growing season? Lots of grip on the long finish with a a strong berry taste. But… its just slightly tart. Really the only flaw in an otherwise solid wine that rates a B in my book.

This was part of a Viticcio sale at Zachy’s a few months ago for $25. I have one more bottle that I’ll let sit for another couple years to see what happens.

2001 Tre Rose Vino Nobile de Montepulciano (Italy-Tuscany)

Deep purple color. It’s a juicy wine with notes of blackberry on the first encounter along with notes of cassis and cedar with come out as the wine aerates and softens. There’s a smokiness that emerges as well. It has a soft texture and a nice smooth medium long finish.

Very good wine at an affordable price. $15 from the usually ridiculously expensive D. Sokolin Wine on Long Island.

2000 Cellole Chianti Classico Riserva (Italy-Tuscany)

It’s winter and I’m on a “hearty red Italian wine” kick. The 2000 Cellole is another product of our Honeymoon in Tuscany two and a half years ago. I had first read about the 2001 Cellole in Wine Spectator then and liked what I had read. Wine Spectator game it a 95 score which made it predictably hard to find, saying it had a "phenomenal nose, with complex smoky, tarry, licoricelike red fruit aromas" and that it was "full-bodied, with added tobacco and vanilla coming through on the palate, with silky tannins and a long, minerally finish."

We eventually found the wine in Florence on the wine list at Cibreo, a restaurant known in Florence for its somewhat out there dishes like duck esophagus (which I had and liked) and a strange take on braised beef (which my wife had and didn’t like as much.) The thing we agreed on was the wine. After that dinner, we looked around for a bottle to take home but came up empty with the 2001 vintage but we did score on the 2000 from a fantastic wine shop in Grieve where they have samples, for a fee, of close to 100 wines dispensed from enotec machines as well as samples of Tuscan olive oils.

Luckily, this wine did not have to live up to the lofty expectations and memories associated with the 1998 Poggio Antico Altero but because of the search we went through in Italy trying to find a bottle, there was some nervousness. Would it live up?

Yes, but not because it reminded us of our experience in Florence. It was just a good wine that exhibited characteristics we like.

The wine… Tahirih got it right away when she said “It’s like walking through a thicket!” This wine is earthy. It’s dark red in color with a beautiful earthy aroma, mixing in wind fruit and wood. The fruit is blackberry and fig although there might also be a light note of raspberry there to just give it a little bit of lightness. The wood is oak. There is a nice balance of tannins and acidity. The wine has a nice grip to it that leads to a long finish. A solid A grade and not because of the memories of Italy. This is just a good wine.

1998 Poggio Antico Altero - Brunello di Montalcino (Italy-Tuscany)

What I look for in a birthday wine is a memory. Not the memory of a wine per se, what it tasted like the last time I had it, or anything like that. I look for an emotive memory, something that makes me thinks back to a time when things really felt good.

That’s where the 1998 Poggio Antico Altero fits in. We opened this up on my 37th birthday but the memory comes from Tahirih’s and my honeymoon in October 2004. We were in Tuscany. Specifically in Sinalunga at a resort, Amorosa, just outside of Siena. We tried the wine at the resort’s restaurant on the recommendation of the sommelier after discussing what we liked and didn’t like in Italian wines and mentioning that we’d like to try something from the region. This is what was recommended. The bottle was opened for us and she left us to our first sips, only to rush back and say in her broken English… “If you can, leave this wine for seven minutes.” I think what she meant was “several” but her point was made. Needless to say, we loved the wine, enhanced all the more by the “magic of Tuscany, looking into my new bride’s eyes, and by the fabulous steak in front of us! The next day we actually made the trip into Montalcino and found the Poggio Antico vineyard, buying this bottle and a couple others for transport back home.

Fast forward two and a half years later. My birthday and the biggest question, other than how does it feel to officially be in my “late thirties” is how will the wine live up to its incredible first impression when taken out of the Tuscan countryside and transported to a Brooklyn dining room. Is it even fair to ask any wine to live up to that?

Well, the answer is that good wines can and do live up to the challenge when expectations are set high by a previous experience. This was one of those wines.

The wine…. Dark, deep red in color. Almost black. First impressions are chewy and smoky. Its important to note here that Poggio Antico has two basic bottlings of their Brunellos and Riservas. One is just labeled as Poggio Antico. The other, Altero, is aged more in oak, approximately a year extra. I’ve had both and this chewy and smoke characteristic is enhanced by the extra wood the wine sees. It’s earthy with lots of fruit as well. Namely blackberry and black cherry. But there’s also notes of violets and chocolate with maybe just a hint of black licorice. There’s a lot going on here. The word makes itself know again with cedar. Long finish that leaves a lasting impression.

This wine deserves an A in my book for delivering a fine wine experience and more importantly, for bringing back the memories.

2000 La Magia Rosso di Montalcino and 2004 Vitiano (pre-b-day wines)

So… Today is my b-day and to gear up, Tahirih and I have planned an “extravagant” wild boar dinner. (I really should let up on Tahirih as far as asking her to come up with fantastic dinner to match our “special occasion” wines but… she’s up to it!). We followed a recipe from Vino Italiano, an Italian wine guide written by David Lynch (not that David Lynch) and Joe Bastianich. The recipe comes from Lydia Bastianich, cookbook author, tv star, and chef of Felidia on the Upper East side. What do you pair with wild boar? Well, they suggest a hearty Brunello and we’re planning on opening the 1998 Poggio Antico Altero.

However, we’ve been cooking all day and had to have a little something before hand. What we choose were the 2000 Rosse di Montalcine from La Magia and the 2004 Vitiano from Falesco. The later is also the wine we used to braise the boar.

The 2000 La Magia Rosso di Montalcino is not from a fantastic year but not a bad one either. However, I was actually surprised to see a 2000 Rosso in a wine store as the 2004’s are currently showing up on shelves. Rosso di Montalcino’s are the 2nd wines of the Brunello estates and are made up of grapes from younger vines and grapes not deemed of high enough quality to make it into the main bottlings. However, these wines are often a good indicator and preview of the vintage.

The 2000 La Magia we opened is brick red in color with noticeable tar and a smoky, earthy nose. Dark berry… blackberry lies just underneath. There are also some spices evident. Somewhat out of balance with high alcohol (14%). That leads to a medium finish. Not a bad wine but falls short, even if its not supposed to live up to it’s bigger brother’s Brunello’s standards. I’d give this wine a B-. It was purchased at Warehouse Wine & Spirits for $16.

The 2004 Vitiano from Falesco is typically one of my “go to” wines, always offering quality at a low price point. The Vitiano is a blend of mix of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot which is aged for a short time in oak. The wine itself has a deep purple color with an earthy, cedary nose. Bark fruit underneath… again blackberry, prunes, and spice. The wine is very nocely balanced with good “grip”, leading to a medium long finish. Very very nice and a great value. This is a solid B+ for me. This was $10, also at Warehouse Wine & Spirits.

Both wines were a nice start to the day but I’m really looking forward to the Poggio Antico. Stay tuned.

2001 Torrione Petrolo (Italy-Tuscany)

Rudy red color. Blueberry aroma with notes of pepper and just a hint of cedar. Soft fruity texture with a medium long finish.
When I first had this wine, I thought it was a great value as I paid approximately $20 for it at D. Sokolin in Long Island. However, it appears I just plain got a great deal (which they sometimes have) as it retails for approximately $40 elsewhere. Unfortunately, D. Sokolin doesn’t have any more and as nice as it was, I’d probably pass at the higher price tag.

2003 Viticcio Chianti Classico Riserva (Italy-Tuscany)

Deep garnet color. Flinty nose with definite blackberry and some vanilla. Earthy and spicy. Medium long length. I loved the 2001 vintage of this wine and I think the 2003 is at the same level or close.

If you have the opportunity to give this a couple years of bottle age, it will soften out even more. If not, try to decant it for about an hour before serving.

This wine is available and can currently be found at Astor Wine and Spirits for $22 which is about the going rate for this wine. It’s very much a recommended wine from me.

2001 Querciabella Chianti Classico (Tuscany-Italy)

The 2001 Querciabella Chianti Classico is another wine that has benefited greatly from a couple extra years in the bottle. The wine is dark red in color with wonderful aromas of oak, allspice, cloves and dark forest fruit with earthy elements underneath. The fruit really comes through on the palate with the focus on blackberry. However, notes of chocolate can be detected as well. A nice balance of fruit and tannins leave a wonderfully lush texture a medium long finish.

The 2001 Querciabella is drinking beautifully now, especially when compared to the 2003 vintage. It is another testament to how wonderful a mid-priced red wine can develop into something special with just a little patience.

This wine typically sells for approximately $20 to $25 a bottle and the predominate vintage in stores now is 2003 which is available at Garnet Wines on 68th and Lexington among other stores. The 2001 can be found at Italian Wine Merchants near Union Square for $25 and at De Vino in SoHo for $19. If you can’t find the 2001, try the 2003 and buy a bottle to lay down for a while if you like it.