Mannucci Droandi, Chianti, Colli Aretini

In a great place at 21. Grilled meaty mushrooms, star anise, dust, coriander, cardamom lead the nose, with dried red cherries and dried strawberries underneath. Smells pretty tertiary in a good way, with a medium + intensity of aromas. Fresher on the palate, though, which shows flavors of ripe black cherries, ripe red plums, fresh mint and juniper berries. High intensity of flavors. Finishes with a nice explosion of mint, which lingers on the palate for around 25 seconds. Structurally …

Pristine cork - a very long cork. Went nicely with pepperoni and mozzarella flatbread pizza. A little funk (in a good way), some nice Sangio character with a good streak of acidity. Seems fully integrated at this moment in time, perhaps the fruit starting to fade a bit. Really enjoyable.

13.5%. Lifted, high toned sangiovese fruit. Tannins fully integrated, acid still pronounced. Not much to report since my last one seven years ago. No secondary/tertiary development. Went well with penne amatriciana. Update: with air time the hard edged acidity softens, the fruit expands, and it overall gets more mellow and smooth.

went quite well with homemade spaghetti...can only get better

91+ now with peak est. in 3-5 years.

Delicious, everything you are looking for in a chianti - nice acidity with the plummy and cherry fruit, interesting leather, earth and dried fruit notes on the nose, lovely long finish on the palate with excellent acidity and soft tannins.

13.5%. On the dark side of medium red. Dusty chianti nose. Complex evolving fragrances. Mouth cleansing acidity. Grip consistent with a riserva of its vintage. Linear, medium - light weight. Long (30+) sour finish. Drinking well now as a young CCR; or wait another ten years for secondary character to develop. Very very good - what a CCR should taste like. If you like sweetly fruity, soft, wines, stay away from this.

Excellent again, even went back for a second bottle for just my wife and me (friday night and all that...). Basically same impression as last note, great combo of old world structure and iron, minerals with lots of rich new world flavors, but nothing cloying. Nice long finish, too.

Hmm, excellent wine for me. The best overall thing is the balance, of everything including style - tart iron acidity representing older, sterner styles, while rich nose and fruit bring in a newer style. On the nose, cedar or something like menthol. Blackberry fruit with a hint of honey or caramel on the mid palate that does not distract.