TN: 2006 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Chianti Classico Riserva

Joe_Dulworth · September 23, 2009, 3:48pm

2006 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Chianti Classico Riserva - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico (9/19/2009)
WIML90

Tasted September 19, 2009 at a retail tasting.

Purple color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of blueberries (light), raspberries and violets. Flavors of berries, cherries and raspberries. Medium to bright acidity, medium to firm tannins, medium body. Drink over the medium term. (90 pts.)

Matthew_Brown · September 23, 2009, 5:26pm

Can I just say as a retailer that this estate could not have picked a BETTER time to drop their old importer so we could find someone in VA that can now direct import their wines?

Great vintages since 2003, and their prices are actually lower now on our floor than they were then.

Nathan_Smyth · September 23, 2009, 7:28pm

Is [u]Sangiovese[/u] supposed to be purple?

[u]Just down the road[/u], in Montalcino, “Brunello” means “the little brown one” [at least as I understand it].

John_Morris · September 23, 2009, 8:54pm

Nathan – I’ve had a lot of unadulterated young sangiovese that is inky enough to be described as purple. I wonder if the Brunello hue isn’t a function of the long tank and barrel aging.

Or perhaps the nero d’avola and merlot.

Joe_Dulworth · September 23, 2009, 9:01pm

Looked purple to me but what the heck do I know. I’m blind in one eye and can’t see out of the other. [suicide.gif]

Bob_Hughes · September 23, 2009, 9:10pm

Joe, I liked it enough to buy a case, but I don’t think it’s ready for prime time yet. I tried mine “pop & pour”, and I wonder if the fact that you tried it at a tasting where it might have gotten some aeration for a while made it seem more accessible?

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Joe_Dulworth · September 23, 2009, 9:21pm

Very well could’ve been. That’s the downside of these tastings. Sometimes I just don’t know how long they’ve been open but when I see one opened before serving me I usually try to note that.

Nathan_Smyth · September 23, 2009, 9:48pm

I tend to think of purple Chianti as being made in the “Sangiovese as Shiraz” style of winemaking [not that there’s anything wrong with that - it’s just a completely different style of Sangiovese].

There are still people making “brown” Sangiovese, though - for instance, Giuseppe Maria Sesti’s 1999 BdM was a real delight of a wine.

I wonder how well the purple Sangioveses will age?

Paul_L_i_n · September 24, 2009, 12:11am

The wine sounds delicious. Any idea how it compares to the Rancia?

Bob_Hughes · September 24, 2009, 1:18am

Paul, to my taste the Rancia is normally ready first, but I find both wines capable of developing complexity with age.

Julius_L · September 24, 2009, 2:44am

I find that the Rancia ages very much like a BdM. I tend to drink them with 5-10 years of age on them. Currently finishing up my 1999’s and will soon be drinking the 2000 and 2001. 2004’s and 2005’s are resting comfortably. I don’t think I would wait that long on the CCR.