I have this same issue, and it has been discussed in various threads here and there before. The consensus seems to be that there is something in certain umami-rich foods that produces this metallic taste, when paired with many red wines, but only for certain people who are sensitive to it. I posted about it when I had some nice Serrano but couldn’t find anything red to drink with it. I’ve never noticed it with anything else, but Iberico, Serrano, Prosciutto, etc. - definitely.
I also agree with the theory that if the tortellini dish made the Chianti taste worse, it was probably the cheese in the dish rather than the tomato sauce.
My last small glass of the 2016 Rocco delle Macie was molto buono with a slice of pepperoni pizza. I am inclined to accept the suggestion that the cheese/seasoning in the tortellini was the problem in my earlier pairing. In the interest of research, I also poured myself a small glass of 2018 Granbazan Etiqueta Verde Albarino (from another cured meat country) with my second slice of the pepperoni. Also muy bueno.
Peace has returned, temporarily at least, to my troubled palate.
Maybe its just my palate, or the Chianti that I drink now versus a generation ago, but there seems to be rounder, fatter ones that can be enjoyed without food - like when cooking/prepping food before supper.
Credit to the region, they are making more popular wines now. My view on the DOC has changed 180 degrees since my youth.
Minor points perhaps, but (i) I also often find fish and red wine pairings that work pretty well, and the problem I have is much more common with other seafood (crab, for example…and seaweed salad created the effect more horribly than anything in memory), and (ii) it isn’t that the wine makes the fish taste metallic, it is that the fish makes the wine taste metallic. The fish continues to taste fine, and actually helps at that point to clear the horrible taste of the wine out of my mouth!
I hadn’t seen these prior discussions, but it is great to hear I’m not alone. And I agree with you 100% that it’s the hams (Iberico, Serrano, Prosciutto, etc.) that are the most consistent in having this effect. It never fails to surprise me, either (for some reason I tend to “forget”…I think because the flavour of prosciutto just seems like it would be perfect with wine. Until I take a sip…)
This seems about right…my “go to” wines in this scenario are definitely Cru Beaujolais and Lambrusco. That said, the reason this topic was on my mind was that I was halfway through a gorgeous Breton Chiroubles two nights ago and took a bite of a Brooklyn cured coppa with tasso spice, and BAM…the wine was no longer drinkable, at least for about the next 5-6 sips following the meat. As Dave says above, this may be something peculiar to a few individuals (similar to the way 30% of the world can’t eat cilantro as it tastes just like lye/soap to them)…
I am a big Chianti fan, but tend to drink and purchase the more modern styles like Fontodi or Castello di Poppiano. But I love a good “cheap” Chianti as well, something about the rusticity they have, and that striking acid backbone. I pour Dreolino Chianti by the glass at our place of establishment, which is THE classic grocery store/gas station Chianti in Tuscany (you will find wicker bottles of it hanging in every establishment you walk into). It’s 10% Merlot, so a bit softer than normal, but for me, is that classic everyday Chianti in Italy.
The 2016 Dievole [Chianti Classico] is mostly sangiovese - some canaiolo and colorino too - and over 72 hours, deteriorates and disappoints. I suppose it was ‘best’ on the first night when it showed leather and saddle on the nose and then herbal / vegetal notes / bay on the palate. It never sheds the dusty tannin, and the acid is at best, maybe medium. I find the 13.5% abv fruit to be very lean. Even though the cork looks fine, and the bottle was purchased years ago, I wonder if this was treated poorly in transit to the US. I’d give this example a C+ and it’s the first example of 2016 Tuscan which has left my annoyed. I don’t have any other experience with their wines, but it doesn’t seem TCA nor VA flawed.
This property is now owned by the Bulgheroni Family - and has their cork - but the vineyard/winery supposedly have a millennia of history making Chianti.
