Thanks for the note! I’ve always been a fan of Monsato CCR…its sort of become my house wine (along with Rioja Alta Ardanza).
What do you know. The pony express finally made it to MN. There’s 9 bottles missing from my local Costco at 18.99 apiece.
$18.99 is a sweet deal on a sweet wine. With VAT it costs more than that in Europe. I think this is one of the best wine values in the world.
I picked up some of this based on this thread. What an interesting wine! It reminded me of a traditional Rioja crianza more than a Chianti – very tart sour cherries, medium garnet. Structurally, it’s the acid that’s in the foreground, not tannin. I have never aged much Chianti, but my gut tells me this is a high-acid wine that will flesh out with time. At $20, it’s definitely worth laying some down to test my hypothesis. Particularly since I was served an older one (a 78, as I recall) not long ago that was very interesting.
I had my first bottle of the ‘16 the other night and thought it was the most enjoyable vintage of this wine in memory. Glad to have 5 more…will probably regret not buying a case.
Crazy good value, as is the 16 Felsina Riserva (the black label)
Thanks for the note Tim.
You’re most welcome, Lonnie, others. As we would say here, volentieri.
Another, recent, data point:
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2016 Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG (12/3/2020)
PnP. Brick red with some purple hue (which I found a bit odd), clear and bright. At first the aromas are a little sleepy, but midway through the first glass an even mixture of fruit and soil begin to emerge; by the end of the second glass, the aromas are pretty much wide open. A young wine, sure, but clearly a very serious wine (considering the price, a serious value, too). On the palate, first sip: wow, this is even more serious than the aromas suggested, there’s some serious power. That power doesn’t come in the form of over-extraction, or high alcohol, it comes from pitch-perfect pick date, super clean fruit and bold acidity. This is a blockbuster in the making; will live for decades at a very high level. That said, I’ll try and let the others rest for at least 2-3 years, as, for my palate, it’s only getting better from here. 14,0% abv., natural cork. highly recommended+
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Badass, thanks Tim. I’ve got a bottle to try and if it is what I think it is, this will definitely be a case purchase at $25 per
I opened a 2010 tonight. It’s drinking the best it ever has.
I’ve got the 2016 on the way. I hope they get here before the weekend. Someone else just wrote a review on this which got my wallet open.
The 2016 was way more accessible young than the 2010, but definitely leave some alone sideways for a while.
If you don’t mind wine.com, you can pick these up for $26.99 before discounts. I’ve used a few coupons recently to get these at an average of $19 each. There are a few active $50 off $150 and $20 off $50: app20, Pr50fb, Ps50fb, If new to wine.com, you can use my referral to save $30 (full disclosure, I would get a $30 credit, too): Wine.com - Buy Wine Online - Wine & Wine Gifts Delivered to You
Bought at my local Total Wine for ~$20 each, and used an Amex offer for $20 off $100!
I saw this on CT the other day and ordered 6 more bottles.
PnP right off the truck today
unique nose of some leather, oak, maybe some forest floor, berries, olive and baking spice
Palate is intense and powerful but definitely not alcohol and it has very good acidity
Pretty tasty stuff
In the Bay Area we can still find this wine for $20. A fantastic value!
Ed
Finished our first bottle last night. This is an easy case purchase.
I enjoyed this bottle over 5-6 hour period yesterday. I will say that a vanilla taste became more prominent towards the end of the bottle which I relate to oak.