a tale of two chianti's

We had an Italian dinner the other night. Sara's father cooked an excellent pasta dish and we each brought a Chianti Classico to go along with it. We ended up with two wines from the same region that were incredibly different. I brought a 2001 Castello di Fonterutoli and he brought a 2003 Frimaio Riserva.

Here is a really terrible picture taken with my cell phone:


The first thing you will notice is the difference in coloration on the corks. This foreshadowed the differences in the wines themselves very well.

The Fonterutoli was a deep wine with great texture. It had a bit of a floral smell and dark fruit taste. The first taste wasn't shocking and the finish was especially protracted, but it tasted great on the tongue and was my favorite of the night. It is aged perfectly for drinking now, and I found it for $25 at Nabil's.

The Frimaio was a much brighter wine. It was more inline with what you would expect from Chianti Classico. Very approachable and great nose. The wine tasted a bit tart after trying the Fonterutoli (I should have tasted them in the other order, but I went chronological instead of by weight). However, after letting the ol' palette air out, it stood on its own. This was in the $20 range too, I believe.

One Chianti per night is almost always good, but two makes for a great night. The food was awesome too.

2004 Gaja Ca'Marcanda Magari

For Ben's birthday, we went to Tonsoni's and I brought the 2004 Gaja Ca'Marcanda Magari. A blend of Cabernet Sauvingon and Sangiovese, this Super Tuscan didn't thrill me as much as it's younger brother Promis did. And it was nearly twice the price at $57.

The wine had a really nice inky purple color and when the waiter was decanting it across the table, I could smell the wine from about 5 feet away. It was shaping up to be an amazing wine and I was really excited. Then I tasted it and I was disappointed. It's not a very approachable wine. It's very subtle. Nabil recommended one hour in the decanter, but that didn't seem to do much for it. There wasn't a lot of fruit, or anything else for that matter.

You could tell it was a classy, well-made wine... I dunno. Maybe it needed more time in the bottle. Maybe, like the Wilson Gunn, it needs two days to open up. I'm still in love with Gaja, but I'll be putting my money into the 2005 Promis that was just released.

2001 Castello Sonnino SanLeone

Sunday once again found me singing the praises of Tuscany. Vinny had us over for dinner and, since he has been known, on occasion, to cook in the Italian style, I decided I had best bring an Italian wine. After many minutes in the cellar, I decided to try the 2001 Castello Sonnino SanLeone, another Super Tuscan.

The blend on this wine was a bit unexpected: Merlot, Sangiovese and Petite Verdot. As a result the wine was darker-purple in color than most Sangiovese based wines. The wine was very rich, with licorice and minerals very apparent, in that order. I would comment on how it went with the food, but we finished it long before the meal was served. This wine was $28 and Parker gave it 91pts. Apparently the Sonnino family has a long history of inconsistent wine making, but they have renewed drive and a new winemaker and have begun producing consistently good wines.

This is a very unique wine, at least in my experience and I think I'll be looking for more of it soon.

2004 Gaja Ca'Marcanda Promis

Sangiovese blended with Merlot and Syrah by winemakers who truly know what they're doing makes this wine a Super Tuscan in both the literal and classification senses. This wine, the 2004 Gaja Ca'Marcanda Promis is pretty much everything I look for in an Italian wine. Fruit and spice in the nose, fruit and leather in the taste and smooth on the back end. You can really taste the unmistakable elegance of the sangiovese. I picked this bottle up from Nabil's shop for $35. I know, it's a bit on the pricey end, but this wine is worth every penny for those who are willing to pay for quality Italian reds. All of the tastiness and none of the disappointment that seems to so often accompany Brunellos.

We drank this with pasta in a garlic-cream-tomato sauce (with lots of garlic; I've got Sara tuned to my garlic-needs) and it was a great match-up. I would think almost any pasta will compliment this wine. It was a bit young-tasting and really opened up after the first hour, so I'd recommend buying a case and letting them age over the next five years, tasting them at intervals to track their progress.