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chianti
Viticcio can do no wrong.
2006 Viticcio Chianti Classico Riserva (Tuscany) $24.99
Their wines continue to garner top scores and yet their prices remain very sane, making these must-have incredible values. Proprietor Alessandro Landini had two wines featured in the top 100 from the Wine Spectator (2006 Viticcio Chianti Classico Riserva and I Greppi Greppicante) and these aren’t even the highest scoring wines they offer. Not only are the current releases excellent but we tasted with Alessandro in Italy last month and are happy to report that upcoming releases will be even better. Viticcio’s wines are tasty on release but seem balanced and deep enough to cellar beautifully for 10 years.
- Steve Rayman, B-21′s Director of Wine
2006 Castello Monastero Chianti Classico (Tuscany, Italy)
2006 Castello Monastero Chianti Classico (Tuscany) $13.99 - May 2010 Special
“Castello di Monastero’s 2006 Chianti Classico is one of the most textbook classic Chiantis one could ask for. It is darkly colored and intensely flavored with much room left to develop. It is an amazing value not to be missed. The Wine Spectator says ‘It shows Indian spices and ripe berries on the nose. Full-bodied, yet refined and very polished.’ You’ll want to have a case to enjoy over the next ten years. ”
91 Points, Steve Rayman
Staff Selection, May 2010
SuperTuscans for all: A twenty-buck Top 100 Wine
2004 Brancaia Chianti Classico ($19.99)
We weren’t surprised to see Brancaia near the lead of the Wine Spectator Top 100. Brancaia is one of sharpest wineries in Tuscany, with vines in Chianti Classico and in Maremma. However I expected it to be the big-bucks Il Blu or Ilatraia, glorious stuff. Yet the Spectator tapped Tre, a sangiovese bolstered with cabernet and merlot. Even better for our times. This is intense, with lots of berries and earlthy shades of coffee, and a wrapper of merlot velvet. It’s a rich bargain when you can get a 93-pointer for $19.99.
Lunch with the FT and U2: Wine or Diet Coke?
From Mr. Gianfranco Magazzini.
Sir, I am a regular reader of Lunch with the FT and always find it interesting except for something that is in my experience never there – a bottle of wine.
To my recollection the only beverages present are: San Pellegrino, Coca-Cola and, even worse, Diet Coke, green tea, herbal tea (which I assume is taken before going to bed … ) or a glass of house wine. Now tell me how you can enjoy lunch in such circumstances?
Mr. Magazzini volunteered to buy wine for any future lunches if the interviewer would call him in Montecatini Terme in Chianti and read him the wine list. Other readers chimed in blaming the sad effects of bubblegum palates, frugality and temperance.
Guess who came to the rescue? U2. Honest.
Paul McGuinness the band’s manager told the FT over his lunch that, “I figured out bad wine costs the same as good wine, so why not learn about it?” He taught the lads as well.
So McGuinness’ last lunch at The Spotted Pig, Mario Batali’s gastropub in New York, included Spanish ham, pumpkin, chowder and gnudi dumplings, and a bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir (plus a bottle of still water, a double espresso and a tea). Lunch with U2.
2006 Lemelson Pinot Noir Thea's Selection ($24.99)
Don’t know if a bottle of wine will solve the world’s problems, but I’ll vote with U2 and the gentleman from Chianti.
For a Willamette Valley Pinot, I’ll take Foxy Rock 2006, made by Clearwater’s own Burgundy-loving Bob Heileman
($24.99) or any of 2006 Lemelsons ($24.99 to $59.99). For the Tuscan, the 2005 Nipozzano Rufina Reserva from Frescobaldi is a steal ($17.99).
Have a glass, it’s lunch time somewhere.