June 2009 - Chianti

When my friend Kally suggested Chianti as a wine for our club, I was a little surprised. I, like most people, really only knew Chianti as the "Italian wine" that comes in those bottles wrapped with straw (that end up becoming candle holders in Italian restaurants). As far as I knew, Chianti wasn't a particularly well thought of wine, and was pretty much just viewed as red table wine to have with spaghetti at a restaurant with a checked red and white tablecloth. Boy, was I wrong.

It turns out that Chianti is far more complex than I remembered or imagined. It comes from the Chianti region of Tuscany Italy -- and there are seven zones in this area that produce Chianti. That's it. You can not get Chianti from any other area than these. It's closely regulated. Chianti wines are made primarily from the red grapes Sangiovese and Canaiolo, and white grapes Trebbiano and Malvasia. Interestingly, Chianti has made it into pop culture on several occasions, including the Merchant-Ivory movie "A Room with a View," The Sopranos (where it often was served at the family dinner table), and most memorably in Silence of the Lambs, where Anthony Hopkins wanted to pair "liver with fava beans and a nice chianti." (We won't discuss the sort of liver he was talking about.)

For our wine tasting we ordered pizza (a natural choice with Chianti). Our wines for this evening included:

• Peppoli, 2004, Chianti Classico - Smells good. Thin/light appearance, but full flavored. Ruby color. Good! Worth drinking again. 3.5 stars.
• I Bastioni, 2005, Chianti Classico - A bit darker than the first one. Drier. More complex. Longer finish. Good. 3.5 stars
• Volpaia, 2005, Chianti Classico - Salty ocean aroma, dry, good. 3.5 stars.
• Nipozzano Riserva, 2005, Chianti Rufini - Dark color, fruity aroma, really dry. Thin but dry and fruity. Very good. 4 stars.
• Castig Lioni, 2007, Chianti - Spicy aroma, great! 4 stars
• Poggio Stella, 2007, Chianti Colli Senesi - good aroma, very dry, nutty, soft mouthfeel. 4 stars.

As you see, we liked all of the Chiantis. They were a great success -- which just proves that sometimes you have to give an underrated wine a chance. (White Zinfandel anyone? JUST KIDDING).