Sometimes there are wines and vintages that you just wish you had bought more of. That rarely happens to me when I get to taste a wine before buying – I am pretty good at sizing them up and going for it when I find one that I think has a future (still sitting on stores of things like 95 Beaucastel, 98 Donjon, 86 and 89 Meyney, 95 Les Cailloux, 95 Santa Duc HG etc.)
This is one such vintage in Tuscany. I find the Italian restaurateurs’ practice of hauling out superannuated Chiantis that look like tawny Ports and had their best years several decades ago usually at outrageous prices, with patient amusement, but if they offered wines like this I’d be considering ordering them.
The colour is still quite dark and the edges are clear. Nose of black cherry and a hint of mocha, with a bit of tobacco (Latakia? The spicy smoky notes would lead me there). In the mouth it is very clean and fruit forward and has soft tannins in the background. Good length, held up for a couple of hours without any deterioration and added some interesting anise hints toward the end. Wish I’d laid down more! (The 1995 Tenuta Marchesi, on the other hand was very decent but was drunk up a couple of years ago – big difference in this vintage, between the two wines).
I really enjoy TNs like these. I took a lot more notice of Chianti Classico and CCR when a 2001 Felsina Chianti Classico tasted recently was so clearly age worthy and satisfying. I’ve stocked up on the 2016 vintage, realizing they will age for decades and might very well outlive me!
The 2015 and 2016 vintages offer some real bargains - many of the non-reserve wines are excellent and some of the reserve wines are superb if expensive - the Fontodi Vigna del Sorbo are excellent and both reserve and regular San Felice are great as well. The list is long…(and my space, sadly, is limited!)
Think they had a bit of syrah as well. It would be interesting to taste a sangio with only a good shot of syrah added…we don’t see that in my market although there are any number of Tuscan producers doing it.
That sounds really awesome. It has always felt to me that people - even enthusiasts - are reluctant to cellar Tuscan wines outside of the Sassicaia types.
I am slowly working my way through a case of 1995 Selvapiana Chianti Rufina Riserva Bucerchiale and have the 10, 11, 13, and 15 ageing in the cellar. I didn’t touch the 95 until well into the first decade of the new century. I just prefer them with bit of complexity on them. I sampled one bottle of the 2011 and will probably wait a couple more years to try another one. These wines beg to be aged although they are hard to stay away from when young.
Just to be clear, I’m assuming you mean that you much prefer the Antinori Badia a Passignano (because you said you wish you had more) vs. the Tenuta (which you describe as merely “very decent”)??
Is the Tenuta the wine that is today designated "Tenuta Tignanello ‘Marchesi Antinori’ Chianti Classico Riserva? Assuming that’s the one, I’ve always assumed the Badia is the more ageworthy of the wine in most vintages, and I definitely prefer it with age to the Tenuta. That said the Tenuta, with its slightly more modern style (richer/riper fruit and more obvious oak, at least on release) is a pretty solid wine and probably more of a crowd-pleaser than the Badia…I bought some of the '04 and '06 Tenuta as they seemed excellent on release, but over the next ten years I thought their appeal decreased (as the Badia’s appeal increased). However, it’s possible that my own tastes simply changed over that period of time.
Yes - they added the ‘Tignanello’ to the name in 2011 when they started sourcing the fruit from there.
I think you summed it up very well - Badia is a better aging longer lasting wine with depth and subtlety and the Marchesi Antinori is more modern and has shorter aging potential, but is nonetheless a pleasant wine.
When I worked at CSM in Woodinville we had a room (the Enoteca) that featured all of the brands owned and imported by CSM Estates. Among those were the Antinori wines. We featured monthly flights. In one such flight, we included all of the Chianti’s in the Antinori portfolio. The Badia was by far the most controversial of the wines. It seemed that there were lovers, haters, and no in-between. We did find that when we switched to a burgundy glass we converted a much higher percentage of people to lovers. It seemed to be a very big wine with a lot of life ahead of it.