2016 Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva- Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG (6/16/2020)
Very, very good - the bottle I opened yesterday was corked, but this one reminds me why I bought a case of this wine. Good acidity and persistence, red & black fruits on both palate and the nose, really hard to argue with this, especially given the price.
2016 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Chianti Classico- Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG (6/16/2020)
From a bottle opened last night. Boy, this might even be a little more in my wheelhouse than the '16 Monsanto Riserva is - best Felsina CC ever?
A focused nose of red fruit and menthol - unbelievable nose for a humble CC. This might be a hair behind the Monsanto on the palate, but qualitatively these wines are very comparable.
And it feels like both, as good as they are now, have the potential for additional development ahead of them. I hedge my bet here a bit, as I don’t necessarily expect these wines to ever drink better than they do right now, so if you like young Chianti and haven’t tried either the '16 Monsanto CCR or this wine, you need to track these down before they disappear.
I might agree on the 2016 Felsina. I actually like the 2015 CC quite a bit (certainly more than some previous vintages, which struck me and others as a bit on the simpler side), but the 2016 is probably better. With one day of air, this is a pure expression of dried cherry, very precise and penetrating especially for a CC. The 2016 Felsina CC Riserva is very good (or even better) as well, but a different beast–way more reserved, needing some bottle age that maybe the CC does not need as much…
Love the Monsanto, and have had several bottles already. I think the ’16 is my favorite vintage, going back to the ‘04. My wife and I were split on the ‘16 Felsina when we had it earlier this spring…might have to revisit that one soon.
As for Chicken Marsala, it’s one of my favorite dishes when it’s made with a dry Marsala. Otherwise, the sweetness turns me off.
I appreciate the thoughts, as well. I’ve been really active in 2015 and 2016 Chianti and other sangiovese wines over the last few months, and there are a lot of great wines to enjoy. I find myself preferring 2016 also, there is simply more there to enjoy - a bit more structure, more tension, and still with great fruit. Excellent time to dig in right now, both 2015 and 2016 are still pretty available.