2006 Ruffino Ducale Chianti Classico Riserva

Hello everyone!! We enjoyed a fabulous meal tonight! We had duck with rice and lentils, and an arugula and grape salad. I love duck and this one came out particularly well. The wine was very good. I chose this wine because 2006 is supposed to be a terrific year for chianti and it's getting hard to find. I really enjoyed the wine and it was an excellent pairing with the food. The color was a deep brick red. The nose was of cherry, blueberry, a bit of licorice or horehound and a hint of forrest (cedar?). The flavors on the palate were true to the nose. The tannins were very smooth, giving the wine a silky feel (unusual for a chianti). It had a soft finish of cherry, vanilla, and black tea. It was not real big, allowing the delicacy of the Sangiovese grape to come through. It was of light to medium body, making it a nice accompaniment to the food. I really liked this wine. It managed to express a lot of personality, and do so without "shouting". I have another bottle, and while I believe it will age well for a few years, it's certainly ready to drink now.

2005 Da Vinci Chianti Classico

Hello all!! I have written up Da Vinci Chianti before, but I had it at a party at someone's else's house, so I didn't note the vintage and I don't believe it was a classico. I've been trying to lose weight, but we took a break from all the of veggies and had home-made tortellini with home-made brown spaghetti sauce, bread, and salad (very healthy with lots of broccoli). The wine was very, very good with this. I love opening a bottle of wine and sharing it with one other person (Al). It makes a couple of hours of sipping. During that time I get to experience it in all its glory as it slowly opens and sometimes fades. This evening was like that. The wine started out as a deep ruby red with a little brick color to it. The nose was not huge, but carried aromas of cherry, vanilla, and a touch of licorice. The flavors were cherry, plum, vanilla and horehound. As time passed current developed to mingle with the other flavors, and eventually overtook the cherry. The horehound became licorice. The color became even darker and the licorice stronger. The tannins started out as soft and velvety, but as the color darkened and the licorice became stronger, the tannins roughened up. I believe this wine is a "drink me now" wine. It was fascinating to watch it literally age with me over the course of two and half hours. I would buy this wine again, but I'd look for an '06, (supposed to be a very good year for chianti and could probably be held longer).I believe this wine was $25 at McScrooges.