Castellare di Castellina, Chianti Classico

Dark garnet with some brick hues at the edges. Complex, intense and layered nose with sawdust, boot polish, leather with red and dark berries glimpsing through. Multilayered savory palate with black olives, cola, leather, pittosporum and some raspberries and blackberries poking through. Prominent astringent tannin. I note the brief drinking window but this bottle was still going strong, I think it should drink satisfactorily for several years and is certainly not fading yet.

Opens with black and blue fruits and oak. Very nice, a bit of tannins coming forward. This needs to be open for an hour in order to open up.

Showing more tannin this time around but still delicious with pretty fruit surrounded by floral, tar and herbal notes. Groceries.

Floral, fresh and rustic without any rough edges. This has way less oak than the high priced spreads and I like that. Delicious.

Enoteca 100 - Italian Wine Tasting (109 TNs) (Donato Enoteca, Redwood City, California) : Black fruit, tar, herbal nose; black fruit, tar, herbal palate; medium finish

medium bodied, mildly tannic, definite floral tones.

Caroline Wine Shop - Italy - Various (Carolines Wine Shop) : Light to mid-ruby colour with a slightly cloudy core. Funky, with fresh and stewed cherry notes. Relatively lightweight for a Chianti, the mid-palate delivers jammy notes, including some green, unappealing tones and tomato leaf, and closes with a harsh and phenolic edge. Didn't rock my boat.