Al Dente Posted May 18, 2006 Share Posted May 18, 2006 I'm working on a braised spare rib recipe out of Batali's latest cookbook and it calls for 2 cups of Chianti. The dish is shaping up quite nicely, thank you very much, but it occurred to me as I drink the remaining wine, that I've never had a Chianti I've liked. I always detect this dirty sock aroma, and it seems to me that the wine is somehow, I don’t know, old? Can anyone point me in the direction of good Chianti? What is “Classico”? What grapes am I tasting here? I guess I’m asking for a crash course on Dr Lecter’s favorite wine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjsadler Posted May 18, 2006 Share Posted May 18, 2006 I'm working on a braised spare rib recipe out of Batali's latest cookbook and it calls for 2 cups of Chianti. The dish is shaping up quite nicely, thank you very much, but it occurred to me as I drink the remaining wine, that I've never had a Chianti I've liked. I always detect this dirty sock aroma, and it seems to me that the wine is somehow, I don’t know, old?Can anyone point me in the direction of good Chianti? What is “Classico”? What grapes am I tasting here? I guess I’m asking for a crash course on Dr Lecter’s favorite wine. I went to the dog and pony show that the Chianti Classico Consortium put on last week here ('dirty sock aroma' was not one of their bullet points ). Classico is a sub-region. Sangiovese is main the grape (others can be added). I tasted about 50 of them at this event, and only thought 2 or 3 of them were actually worth the price (though this really is a wine that needs food). I couldn't believe how expensive some of them were (for wines that to me seemed to have little character). Now I'll let someone more knowledgeable step in... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sthitch Posted May 18, 2006 Share Posted May 18, 2006 Go find a bottle of 2004 Di Majo Norante Sangiovese, while not a Chianti, it should suffice for your recipe. It costs about $10, and you will be very happy to drink the rest of the bottle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Blume Posted May 18, 2006 Share Posted May 18, 2006 Here's the official site for Chianti Classico. The Black Rooster indicates that the winery belongs to the consortium. Some experts (I repeat only, not being one) claim that the designation reflects politics more than quality these days. There are fine wines in the Chianti region that do not bear the Gallo Nero symbol. This does not answer your question about good Chianti, but when cooking, I agree with Steve about just going for the grape, especially if you have never cared for the Chianti you have had in the past. Whole Foods has an even cheaper house brand, around $5-$6. There are some wines from Abruzzo that tend to be inexpensive, too, made from the same grape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigpinot Posted May 18, 2006 Share Posted May 18, 2006 Chiantis I enjoy include Cennatoio, Castello Vichiomaggio, Rocca Delle Macie, and Avignonesi. Macarthurs and Wide World of Wines generally have a good selection of those and other good Italian wines. All of the above are reasonably priced (probably $12-20ish), as I recall. Dean would probably be the one to ask... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinwiddie Posted May 18, 2006 Share Posted May 18, 2006 Chianti Classico, located south of Florence, is a region of Tuscany. It produces about 1.9 million cases of wine a year, made by some 585 producers from approximately 17,200 acres of vineyards. The distinction between Chianti Classico's is whether or not it is a "Riserva" or not. Riservas tend to be much more robust and powerful. Some of my favorites are the Fattoria di Felsina Berardenga Rancia Riserva and the Barone Ricasoli Castello di Brolio. The 1997s were fantastic and the 1999s and 2001s are very good too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe H Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 I have a case of '97 Castello di Ama ($21 or 22/bottle on release) that I am just opening along with a few bottles left of '97 Fontodi (I paid about $15 a bottle on release). The Felsina mentioned above is excellent also as is Querciabella and a number of others. These are not reserves, just the regular cc's and they are fantastic right now. Some of the Ama reserves are outstanding. In fact Ama's olive oil is among the best I have ever tasted also. Chianti can be like any other wine: it is only as good as what you buy and if you are willing to wait a bit before drinking it in most cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deangold Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 Chianti is a zona di produzione, not a regio or sub region. It lies in several Regione: Firenze, Siena, Pisa. Within Chianti, there are many different "flavors" or grades. Classico is the oldest zone, or the "Classic" zine. It is not in particular the best zone, although many of the best sites lie within Classico. Other zones within the Chianti are Colle Fiorentini (hills of Florence), Colle Pisani (hills of Pisa), Rufina (not to be confused with Rufino) etc. One of my favorite zones is Colle Sinese (Siena hills) which occupies the area south of Chianti Classico moving towards Montalcino on the Southwest. These wines often combine the best of Montalcino with Chianti. DOCG is limited to certain Chianti that have registered a DOC and established tasting panels to assure "typicity" in the wines. DOCG is not a measure of quality, just that a wine is true to type. Most Chianti is mass produced crap. Most Brunello is small produced crap. Most all wine is crap. The trick is to find the great producers, large and small who are dedicated to making wines true to their type or who go off wildly experimenting with what nature gives them. Some of the folk who do that, in my opinion, on a regular basis are Felsina, Fontodi, Giacomo Mori, Isole e Olena and Frescobaldi (Nippozano and above only). I used to love Ama but now their riservas taste too much of oak to me, but they are still very fine wines indeed. And their olive oil is utterly fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted May 19, 2006 Author Share Posted May 19, 2006 Re the Recipe I make it, if it is on page 376 of the book, all the time and do not use Chianti, I use what ever I have laying around and it is all good. The real differnce in the dish,I think , is the quality of the chicken stock and the Anchovy's. How did your's turn out ? It turned out very well. I'm having the leftovers tonight. The folks at Canale's in Eastern Market were kind enough to cut a rack of ribs across the bone into 3 long pieces. This made it a lot easier to eat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe H Posted May 21, 2006 Share Posted May 21, 2006 I just poured the last glass of my last bottle of '97 Fontodi CC. God, it is good! I believe at its absolute peak this evening....this glass!! In truth I wouldn't want to prostitute this by pouring it into any stew, short ribs or spare ribs. It stands alone. I am proud that I waited the four or five years from the time I bought this case until now when I am sipping the last glass. For what this is: a great glass of wine. For my restraint in not pouring it earlier: the reward of full flowered balanced eloquence of taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jparrott Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 I'm done with Tuscan wine. There's so little traditional Brunello left these days that what's there is uber-expensive. And some much of the rest is shite. Montesecondo is the clear exception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deangold Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 There's so little traditional Brunello left Pertimali Agostina Pieri Costanti Le Macioche Le Chiuse Argiano Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona Lambardi Poggio di Sotto Collemattoni Talenti Canilicchio di Franco Pacenti Just to name a few that are easy (exceot for the last five) to acquire... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielK Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 Woohoo! Fistfight in the schoolyard!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jparrott Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 Naw, Dean's right. But a lot of those bottlings are north of $60, and I'm not too enamored of a lot of the Rossos underneath. And Chianti and Toscana IGT are minefields--you walk at your own risk of running into a barrique bomb. Montesecondo's IGT rosso was denied the Chianti Classico DOCG because of color (which is ridiculous--its color is fine). The DOCG board told the winemaker that he could add a coloring agent and he would get the DOCG. So screw them and their silly black rooster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatguy2009 Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Anyone on here have any experience with Castellare Chianti Classico 95-2009? I was wondering what price point for these @ cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sthitch Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 I am not sure how drinkable most of these years will be, this is not a long maturing wine. Even the 2005's are likely to be too old. Being a gamble I would not pay a premium for the aged wines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatguy2009 Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 I am not sure how drinkable most of these years will be, this is not a long maturing wine. Even the 2005's are likely to be too old. Being a gamble I would not pay a premium for the aged wines. I read some that the 2004 was drinkable all the way up to 2020...hmm......need to a little more research... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sthitch Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Are you sure you were not reading about the Castellare Chianti Classico Riserva? That wine will age longer than the regular Classico. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiantiandFava Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 One of my favorite zones is Colle Sinese (Siena hills) which occupies the area south of Chianti Classico moving towards Montalcino on the Southwest. These wines often combine the best of Montalcino with Chianti. Thanks for helping explain why I enjoy the chianti classico we (cork) have by the glass right now from Molino di Sant'Antimo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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