Jakub Kalinowski

9.1

Year in, year out, this is my fav Chianti Classico. To me it captures all what I look for in a good every day Sangiovese - freshness, a bit of tannic edge, juicy flow, a savory sweetness to the fruit. And food friendliness!
Enticing nose with red cherries, a bit of wet undergrowth & turned earth, a bit of tomato leaf, a flowery whiff. Joyful!
Medium bodied on the palate with great energy & flow. The tannins present, a touch rustic, but in a nice way, the acidity juicy & vibrant. Nice depth and long finish.
So drinkable but also has some seriousness to it.
Love Monsanto! — 2 months ago

Tom Casagrande

9.1

With some of the entry-level Brunelli like this one, it’s a tough call when to open them. In my experience many try to play in the big leagues by overextracting. This one’s always been on the tannic, somewhat astringent side, so you want to wait to allow the tannins to drop and for it to settle down, but you don’t want to wait so long that the fruit dries up. I think this is about as good as it’s going to get. The fruit is still there, and the astringency is abating a bit. Still tannic. Good acids. Should go well with a simple pasta with tomato and sausage sauce.

UPDATE: After 24 hours under a vacuum seal, it was so astringent as to be nearly undrinkable, to my taste. — 2 years ago

Thomas Nies

9.5

Rustic but refined. Served with homemade pasta and roasted tomato sauce. Exceptional! — 4 years ago

Daniel P. Drake

9.2

The wine I have opened is the 2016 Fanti Brunello Di Montalcino - Siena, Italy.

On the nose there is cherry, plum, strawberry, cranberry, red currant, tomato, leather, tobacco, licorice, spice and earth.

The palate has tart cherry, cranberry, strawberry, spice, clay pots, licorice, mint, dried roses and dry dirt.

This is a medium to full bodied wine that has good complexity, medium+ to high acidity and medium + to high fine grained mouthcoating tannins that gives a long earthy red fruit finish. A very nice Brunello that has a long life to go. Definitely needs time and decant to help open up. The weekend has been a beautiful one so far and I hope everyone are enjoying themselves. Please stay safe and healthy. Nostrovia! 🍷🍷🍷🍷 — 5 years ago

Stas Medvedev

9.3

🏅 Rating 93+/100 (4,35⭐)

Tasted from magnum.

Ruby color with tawny hue showing the age. First nose has a slight touch of iron. Fruit is ripe and sweet. Vegetable scent of tomato stems suggesting presence of Cabernet Sauvignon. Sandy tannins of Sangiovese. Amazing how bottle aging makes the wine so smooth and satin.

Mostly tertiary aromas, but very well holding the age and could last for at least 5 more years without any signs of decline

Elegant expression of famous Tignanello.

1981 was outshadowed by great 1982. It was 10th anniversary vintage and is considered a very fine one.

Key oenological data:
Average sugar content of grapes at harvest 21.00%
Average total acidity of the grapes 7.80%
Alcohol content after fermentation 13.00
Average fermentation temperature 28C
Length of fermentation 13 days
Acidity of wine after malo 5.90
Ageing in 225 litre barrels 20 months
Bottle ageing in our cellars 18 months

======
I have published the article with a story of Tignanello, the emblematic SuperTuscan wine from Antinori.

\- What were the key factors of its success?
\- What makes this wine stand out from many other wines form Tuscany?

Best enjoyed with a glass of Tignanello.

Read the full article at www.stasmedvedev.lv/wine

---
Instagram: @wine_talks_club — 5 years ago

Chris McClellan

9.1

Gorgeous ripe black/red fruit with dried thyme/rosemary/tomato leaf/black tea, acid and tannin both elevated and well balanced and long finish. Paired great with homemade lasagna.... — 6 years ago

with Ryan and Michael

Jenn Ingle

9.1

Nose - leather, animal pelt, stewed tomato and mushroom. Main notes - mello dark fruit like plums and cheese rind and some smoky flinty character. Body - is soft and silky mid taste and then does this cool sharp acidic thing at the end that gives it structure and interest. Paired perfectly with the duck ragu pasta my hubby made for dinner. This wine is great with a meaty tomato dish. — 7 months ago

with Jay

Dawn E.

9.1

Delicious! Presents with milk chocolate, tomato leaves, red raspberries, garrique, thyme, graham cracker crust, and pomegranate. Every time I pick up the glass, I discover something new! — a year ago

Jess

9.2

Medium-deep ruby-garnet color.
Aromas of dried black cherry, clove, tobacco.
Dry. Flavors of stewed tomato, clove, dried cherry, sage, leather. Medium-rich, chewy tannins.

Intensity: 4/5
Complexity: 4/5
Balance: 4/5
Finish: 4/5 — 3 years ago

Matthew Cohen

9.4

On open nose is cold smoke and pine.

Palate is perfect supple mid season cherries. Flashing cherry spice. Some sweet wood. Gorgeous old rose internal aromatics. What you expect from old Nebbiolo.

2 hours in nose is more gun smoke.

Palate is sweet cherry. Gorgeous. So elegant. So fresh. Interlaced sweet old wood. Wow. What you want.

Day 2 nose is a bit of tomato. Some cold smoke. Still elegant. Savory. Fresh. Grippy. Cherry flower rose. Still good. Long grippy finish. Still has 5-10 years to go. — 4 years ago

Jeffrey Woo

9.0

Deep garnet hue with high saturation. Aromas of blackberry, cherry, lavender, pepper, plum, sage, and tar. Full body with full, robust tannins and medium-plus acidity. Palate adds hints of minerals and tomato. A deep, aromatic, complex red with a clean, balanced finish. A very good entreé into Pessac-Léognan. — 5 years ago

Jan de Weerd

9.5

Pure old country style. No fruit other than perhaps dark, tart cherry and tomato. Mostly a juice with notes of cigarette box, dark unsweetened chocolate, black tea and hints of granite. Medium but very dry tannins. Balanced, pleasant finish. — 5 years ago

with Tammy

Jim McCusker

9.3

From last week. Terrific barolo that went great with linguini and a homemade tomato sauce with waygu meatballs. Yum. — 6 years ago

with Vanessa

Freddy R. Troya

9.0

Macchia – Delicious Barbera 2023
Lodi, California – USA 🇺🇸

Overview
Barbera may be native to Italy, but in Lodi it thrives in the warm days and cool nights, producing generous, fruit-driven wines. Macchia has built a reputation for crafting some of the most expressive New World Barberas, with a track record of winning international medals (including Gold at the International Barbera Competition in Italy for earlier vintages). This 2023 vintage keeps that pedigree alive with a vibrant, approachable style.

Aromas & Flavors
Explodes with blackberry, ripe plum, and dark cherry layered with chocolate, spice, and hints of licorice. There’s an intensity of fruit without losing freshness, showing why Barbera adapts so beautifully outside its homeland.

Mouthfeel
Juicy, full of energy, with supple tannins and balancing acidity. Medium-plus body with a long, fruit-forward finish dusted with cocoa and spice.

Food Pairing
Pairs effortlessly with rich tomato pasta, grilled lamb chops, or a hearty sausage pizza. Also excellent with strong cheeses that complement its ripe fruit core.

The Verdict
Macchia delivers again with a Barbera that’s as delicious as its name. The 2023 vintage stands out as a casual yet compelling New World take on an Old World classic—backed by a winery whose style already carries international pedigree.

✨ Personal highlight: This wine style has pedigree from past events, but the 2023 is very much its own statement. It’s “delicious” in every sense and shows how consistent Macchia has been across vintages. Cheers! — a year ago

Robert Stackowiak

9.0

Cherry, tomato, espresso on the palate. Nice at 9 years old. September 2024. — 2 years ago

Jakub Kalinowski

9.0

A nice CS/Sangiovese blend from around Pisa.
Very interesting how this evolves in the glass with the character of the two grapes coming out to shine and fading - sometimes this is very much reminiscent of a northern Medoc with gravelly black currants, a few minutes later the hallmark tomato leaf + some rusticity of Sangiovese emerges.
On the palate this is quite firm with a proper tannic frame filled with black cherry & black currant and juicy acidity.
Good depth & length and surprisingly youthful. — 3 years ago

Daniel Bloom

9.2

Delicious, minty luxurious mouthfeel.
N:Very minty, some deep tomato, as paste. It has an interesting lightness to it.
P: mulberries and bright red/orange long finish, still has that murky entry, The acids are still bright. Very tactile and grippy.
— 4 years ago

with Sarah

Bhuvana Husain

9.0

Delicious savory red wine - had at Waypoint. Described by server as tomato & basil flavor! — 5 years ago

Matt Perlman

9.0

From mag. Had not yet tried this wine with this much age before and didn’t know what to expect but it was really quite nice. Develops kind of like a gamay or Pinot. Black cherry and raspberry still there but definitely leaner and more acid-driven and savory at this point. Dried flowers, stewed tomato, dried herbs, mushroom, maybe a little sweet tobacco and mesquite. Overall I think I would still drink this young for the exuberant lip smacking red fruit but this was interesting — 5 years ago

Michelle M

9.0

Clear, deep purple wine with thin legs, cooked red fruit (cherry and plum) and notes of vanilla, mushroom, leather on the nose. Medium-light bodied mouthfeel, medium-low acidity with stewed red fruit and hints of vanilla with a light but medium-long finish. Not super complex but well balanced, fresh and fruity. Probably would go well with oily fish, sautéed mushrooms, creamy tomato sauces. — 6 years ago