TN: 2001 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Chianti Classico

  • 2001 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Chianti Classico - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG (12/23/2019)
    Medium garnet color. Lovely nose of cherries, leather, forest floor, damp cellar. Elegant layers of pure, modestly tangy black cherry and blackberry fruit on the nicely-structured palate complicated by leather, strawberry, and earth. Persistent, freshening acidity and smoothed tannin leading to a longer finish of savory red fruit with echoes of leather and soft earth. Beautiful wine showing well in the midst of its drinking window. (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Thanks for the note. Still have one or two left.

Loren,

Sounds good. The wine exhibited lots of vibrancy and IMHO could evolve positively for quite a while. Scores high in the QPR department.

Cheers,
Doug

What was the price back then? Still a bargain today in the mid $20s.

Just had the '15 last night and it was delicious! Drank alongside the 2011 Produttori di Barbaresco “Rabaja” Riserva. Both were pretty delicious…but interestingly, the non-wine-geeks preferred the Barbaresco, while the wine geeks preferred the Chianti. Exactly the opposite of what I had anticipated.

£9 - £10, which would have been roundabout $12 - $14 at 2001 exchange rates.

John, John, and Ian:

In my mind, this and other Chianti Classico offerings can occupy a similar space to Kabinett bottlings in the white wine world: very fairly-priced, seem to age forever, shine with food, often fly under the radar.

Cheers,
Doug

I have one bottle left of the 2001. Coincidentally it is standing up for near term consumption. The price sticker says $19.99.

David,

I have one left also. If you go for it I would be interested in your findings.

Cheers (and Happy Holidays),
Doug

This thread reminded me that I hadn’t bought the 2016 yet. Just fixed that. At $25+, this is still an amazing value.

Sadly it’s corked.

Argh. Bummer!

One of the wine world’s great bargains. I don’t have any 01s left, but the 04 is just turning a corner

Doug,

I have not tasted the 2016 but it appears to be a great vintage. I will be looking to source some.


Neal,

Wish I had had the presence of mind to acquire the 2004 (did purchase some Rancia, though). It indeed should be rounding into view.


Cheers,
Doug

I tasted it a couple of months ago. It’s as good as I expected, and it will need time. The only recent and very good vintage that I’ve found to be surprisingly open since release is the '13.

Really agree with this, Doug. I think I have two bottles left of this wine and hope to open one of them soon. Thanks for the review.

Doug,

Thanks for the heads up regarding the 2016 vintage. Will cellar appropriately.

Jeff,

I wish I had more than 1 bottle left! Please post your thoughts if you sample it.

Cheers,
Doug

The odd thing to me is that the Rancia CCR bottling rarely seems to show well. I have no more CC or the “normal” CCR bottling, but do have a bottle or two of each of the '95, '99 and '01 Rancia. However, based on past experience, they are either “just not ready yet”, or simply aren’t that good…they always show kinda dense and without any complexity/expressiveness. I’m a little suspicious when people say these just need more time, as I haven’t really seen any examples of Chianti Classico Reserva or even Brunello which are too young to drink 20 years after harvest and which become beautiful later. That said, I did have an '85 “normal” CCR bottling about 3 years ago that was absolutely gorgeous, so it is certainly possible for these wines to age longer than expected. But I would assume the '85 would have also drank well 10 years earlier…unlike these Rancias.

John,

I tend to agree with you. I have recorded 11 tasting notes in CT comprising the 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2004 Rancia, and the vast majority were rated in the 89-91 range. Tasted a 1997 in August of 2016, as well as a 1999 in July 2019, both scored 91. We’ll see.

Cheers,
Doug