Rocca di Montegrossi Chianti Classico 2004

$11, Aug 2008
375ml, all consumed

Finally a real Chianti! No oak, no obfuscation, no candy liquor, just honest sangiovese in botte.

A beautiful, clean, focused nose of intense, but well measured fruit. Slightest hint of funkiness and a dash of sweetness.

In the mouth it is just as true to Chianti, with well rounded fruit and a lively but civilized acidity. Its texture has quite a bit of pull but never overwhelms the palate.

This wine is at once simple and noble. Definitely a keeper.

Chateau Grand-Puy Ducasse Paulliac 2004

$33, August 2008
750ml, drank over two days.

Deep concentrated color.

Upon opening the nose is of pronounced Cabernet. In a few minutes, however, it faded and was replaced by a more restrained scent with soft, sweet components.

In the mouth it is round, with a thick texture. Fruit, acid, and tannin are in good proportion. But definitely not as acidic as Italian wines. And the tannins are puny compared to Barolo. It is overall rounder, smoother, thicker than what I wanted to drink. The finish has a dense cocoa component.

After an hour or so in the glass sweet vanilla appeared in the nose and dominated thereafter. This was a surprise as most Barolo made with barrique tend to exhibit vanilla early on.

On the second day, the acid picked up a tad (nitrogen gassed). But it was still well structured and completely enjoyable. The acid ceases to be apparent after a while in the glass.

Throughout my experience with this wine (over two days, over steak, tagliatelle alla bolognese, piave, solo drinking) I've confused it with Barolo and Burgundy, which shows its charm. Overall I'm quite happy with it.