Here we can discuss about the shrill, piercing acidity and unpenetrably tough tannins of the red wines; the wonderful white wines nobody has ever heard from; and the odd sparkling wines that aren’t as good as Champagne but tend to be as expensive.
Here we can share which Nebbiolo we’ve recently drunk and it was still way too young to enjoy - and how a year or two of extra aging would’ve REALLY made a difference!
And, most importantly, here we can continue to actively ignore those poor souls who have not seen the light and aggressively proclaim that Chianti Classico is undrinkable!
I feel you. Was in Radda in the beginning of September and cannot wait to go back and enjoy the wine and food. This was my first visit to Chianti but it has definitely impacted my taste for the wines. Have you been to Volpaia?
I was in Radda, too - only in late September! It was my first visit to Chianti as well, but it didn’t really impact my taste whatsoever; I went there because of the wines!
No, unfortunately I did not visit Volpaia.
As for CC age, I prefer them anywhere between youthful and tertiary yet still alive. We tasted some beautiful 2021s that I loved, but then again, one of the greatest Chianti Classicos I’ve tasted was 1955 Villa Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva that was remarkably vibrant despite its age!
On average, I’d say the Chianti Classico sweet spot starts to emerge somewhere after 20-ish years, but many producers seem to make wines that only get better with age, so I don’t know where that sweet spot ends. Anyways, I feel great Chianti Classicos only start to exhibit lovely tertiary complexity at the age where many Brunellos have already been quite some time at their plateau of maturity or are even ready to go downhill!
Will never turn down an invitation to gush about Italian wines, although I’m yet to find a Piedmontese Chardonnay I like.
I like 2021 German Riesling and 2014 and 2017 Red Burgundy so @Otto_Forsberg, I am guilty. I prefer to drink wine before food as despite many hundreds of attempts I can only recall a handful of times the wine enhanced the food and vice versa (yes I know…). I find my favourite way to drink is opening 2 or 3 bottles with my wife on a Friday evening and chipping away at them on Saturday evening with a bit left to see how it looks after a week in the fridge the following weekend. Seeing them side by side as air and temperature do their work is my fascination.
In recent years, I’ve found myself steering clear of Monforte and most Serralunga (although Cappellano & Massolino are notable exceptions) as I appreciate inner perfume and austerity more than grip, power, dark fruit and earthy flavours. Castiglione Falletto is so multifaceted (I mean Cavallotto vs G Mascarello vs Fenocchio vs Oddero vs Moncherio vs Brovia) that I would park myself in a cellar there in case of a zombie apocalypse.
Alto Piemonte has been a revelation with the pure tart red fruit and layers of such intense minerality. And whilst I like the monoculture appearance of the Langhe wine areas, there is something rustic and more appealing about where the grapes are grown in Alto Piemonte.
2019 seems to have a lot of everything without too much of anything (the tannins are on the firmer side) and I fear that 2021 will be a very good, and money draining, vintage.
Not Piemontese, but give ‘Cuvee Bois’ (Les Cretes, from Valle d’Aosta) a try if you see it. Despite the image the name might conjure, it’s not overly woody. Not one for long ageing (I’d drink up inside a decade), but has decent complexity.
Likewise though, compared to the other Italian whites, I’m similarly likely to avoid not just Piemontese Chardonnays, but Italian ones, based on experiences so far.
I like Barolo and other Piedmont wines, Brunello, Taurasi, Pepe and some wines from Sicily.
But, to me Chianti really is a minefield. Buy Chianti blindly in a restaurant and it often can be undrinkable. And, the “good” ones are too often overpriced and way too modern for me. Please save me from “Chianti” with Cabernet and/or Merlot mixed in. Yes, there are some good ones (esp. when I go to the Enoteca del Pitti Gola and have someone there tell me what to drink), but boy does one have to really work hard to find them.
You are not alone, Howard!
I sometimes find an individual bottle of Chianti the most chameleon- like wine that I drink. Depending on a number of hard to predict background variables, the wine can pout or it can sing.
Drank a wonderful 2013 Canalicchio di Sopra BdM over the last two nights. Definitely only recommended for people that enjoy Italian wines with all their interesting almost quirky flavors and structured palates.
Not to mention the Nebbioli of Valtellina! Arpepe makes some lovely examples, and even their basic Rosso di Valtellina tends to be very good.
Another thing that I really enjoy about Alto Piemonte and Valtellina is the ability to produce wine with less ABV. 13,5% is such a sweet spot for Nebbiolo, but it’s sad to see how hard it is becoming these days to make wine like that in Langhe.
Had the 2019 Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo over the weekend. Too young but lovely aromatics and mouthfeel already.
Regarding Chianti/minefield - perhaps it’s unfairly limiting, but I long ago settled on a small set of favorites, and just drink those. I experiment more broadly in other areas.
In short, yes. But I really bristle about broad proclamations about Italy. Is there really such a thing as “Italian Wine”?? So much vast variety … it is not one thing. It is not definable.
me some smoooooth Pinot Grigio! 
Anyways, I feel great Chianti Classicos only start to exhibit lovely tertiary complexity at the age where many Brunellos have already been quite some time at their plateau of maturity or are even ready to go downhill!
