TN: Badia al Monte 2008 Chianti Classico

[Chasse-Spleen]

Badia al Monte 2008 Chianti Classico

Dark, translucent purple. Great nose with milk chocolate, oak, merde, earth, cocoa, tobacco, black cherry. What I call a '3-D' nose, as you can kind of sense it physically, as if the wine has a sort of force field emanating upwards from it. Medium body, long finish. Nice silky texture and mouth-feel. Some tannins still present and very nice acidity. Great balance. Can age for another 5 years but great now. Luscious, chewy red and black fruits on the palate, plus some soy, oak, spice and earth. Very well integrated. 100% sangiovese. 13% alch. Terrific, satisfying wine. Better than I had hoped for. At $14, kind of high in the QPR department. I love Chianti Classico!

-Chasse

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

I had a 2007 Banfi CCR a few days ago that was pretty good. Probably $17-20. Compared to some other Italian and Spanish wines I've been quaffing and not reporting on lately, this, while I thought a touch soft/full/modern (or maybe it had just rounded some with a couple years in bottle), was still far drier/traditional than those and really hit the spot both before and during dinner. This reminds me to pick up a couple more bottles.

[Chasse-Spleen]

I have a friend who knows a ton about Italian wine, and he thinks that the Chianti Classicos are generally more to his taste than the Riservas. I think it varies from estate to estate, but with some of the same trends that are happening in Bordeaux also happening in Italy, I think Riservas have more potential to come out being more modern ie earlier drinking (versus their traditional potential) and less traditionally styled. One of the great things about CC is that with just 5-7 years aging, they enter this great phase of readiness. There are of course modern styled ones, but I don't even know which ones they are. Viticcio? No problem, I'll drink that too!