PICCINI | Chianti | Riserva | 2014
sangiovese | canaiolo | colorino
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Tonight we are going to review a Chianti wine, which is a red blend from Toscana (Italy), that is made primarily with sangiovese grapes – a wine that is somehow misunderstood – Chianti Riserva 2014 from Tenute Piccini. Chianti is a small region within Toscana region, but wines labeled as “Chianti” can be made almost anywhere in Toscana. Besides sangiovese, Chianti wines may contain wine grapes like canaiolo, colorino, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and even white grapes were once allowed in Chianti Classico, but enough theory, let’s get straight to the tasting.
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Take a look at the tasting notes bellow and our detailed assessment of the wine:
Visual
Ripe ruby color, not too depp nor opaque, with hints of garnet towards the rim of the glass.
Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with red fruits: sour cherry, red currant, pomegranate, ripe red plum, dried cherry, cranberry, overripe sweet cherry and some nuanced hints of dried cranberry. An instant later comes secondary and tertiary notes of red pepper, nutmeg, roasted oakwood and dried cherry tomatoes.
Gustatory
The wine is medium-dry, with high alcohol level, high acidity and rough tannin. It feels round, opulent and wide, with a nuanced tannic accent . This is a lean but rough wine, smooth and lush, with a quite nuanced fruity accent despite its old world origins. The wine has a nice overall balance and a pleasant crispness towards the end.
Aftertaste
It has a medium finish and an balanced, smooth but rough bitter-seedy aftertaste.
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This is definitely a fine Wine of Italy and the overall rating says the same, with 89.7 points scored it is right there, among the best wines we’ve tasted so far. Please click on the chart icon on the left in order to get to the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines we’ve tasted to date.
Conclusion: this is a wine in its prime – nicely balanced, round and supple – a crowd pleaser – definitely a well made Chianti wine, a wine that can stand against a couple more years of bottle ageing. Its rough tannins and mouth-watering acidity makes it an ideal pairing partner for italian cuisine. Our recommendation would be to go with a classic italian cold cuts board or red-sauce-based pasta dishes, like for example spaghetti bolognese or lasagne alla bolognese, as the latter one is simply an amazing pairing indeed. Enjoy.
WineStatistics tasting results:
PICCINI
Chianti | Riserva | 2014
grape: | sangiovese | canaiolo | colorino |
overall rating: | 89.7 |
conclusion: fine | highly recommended
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(c) The WineStatistics ratings are based solely on our own knowledge of the world of wine and on our personal wine tastes, which may, or may not, differ from yours – the reader. There are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.
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