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| ~ Cellars at Rocca di Castagnoli ~ |
If you look at the Rocca di Castagnoli website, it seems as though it’s an agriturismo before it’s a winery. Maybe that’s part of the problem. There seems to be a lack of focus here – a lack of passion which is manifesting itself in the wines.
When the 2007 Chianti Classico were released, I had the fortune of tasting the Rocca di Castagnoli and it was delicious. I bought several bottles back then and have been purchasing it since. The 2009 was good, but seemed to take a step or two backward from the 2007. Then came the 2010 – and yet another step backward.
Last night, with some bread, olives and cheese before heading out to dinner, I opened my last bottle of the 2010. What is going on here? Are they distracted by their hotel & lodging business? Rocca di Castagnoli is an entire medieval village unto itself. It sits in the heart of the historic Chianti Classico area, surrounded by forest, olives and meandering rows of cypress trees. Totaling almost 850 hectares, with 100 under vine, the production is large, but not overly so as to be unweildy. Yet something is amiss.
The bottle last night was medium violet in color with brick like reflections. It already looks older than it is. Aromas are pleasing enough, with berries, cedar and slight floral overtones. In the mouth, the wine is lean. It lacks fruit. The profile is somewhat bitter with astringency to the tannins. There’s no finesse here. The medium bodied core of berry fruit is punctuated with spice and soft vanilla notes but overall this seems tired and dried out. The cheese helped a little, but it didn’t elevate the wine as I would have hoped. 83 points, about $15. Approach with caution.
The 2010 is a blend of 80% Sangiovese with equal parts Canaiolo and Colorino comprising the last 20%. The wine is aged in a combination of large cask and tonneaux and is barrel aged at least 12 months with an additional 6-12 months bottle aging before release.
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| ~ The inconsistent 2010 Rocca di Castagnoli Chianti Classico ~ |
Salute!
Amazing. I had bought two bottles of the 2010 as well and the first bottle was unremarkable in any way- similar to your review but very watered down, imo.
Last night I opened the second bottle and it was just outstanding. Lively with crisp acidify that left me going back for more after each sip- the ideal weeknight quaffer with food.
Davey,
I agree with you. And there's nothing more maddening about a wine than what I'll call consistent bottle variation. Years back, Vitiano used to be notorious for this. Even bottles from the same case – some amazing, others putrid, some in the middle – so the storage and/or transit never seemed like an issue.
This is how I've been tweeting this article and this wine: Quality isn't quality if it's inconsistent. And let's face it, everyone has limited $$$ to spend on wine. You going to gravitate toward the sure thing whenever you can. This one doesn't fit the bill. I will be very careful in future vintages of this CC until they get back on track.
Thanks as always for commenting.
Amen, hombre.
I had a bottle of 2007 Vallana Boca last night and was lost in the novelty of it. I just tasted a washed up Rioja with flat fruit and leather, even though the nose was nice. I think my first bottle was better but may have been caught up in the hype…
BTW, have mildly modified your Ribbolita and now it's a staple. Am going to try the Chianti chicken (with aforementioned Vallana) in tomorrow. Keep the good stuff coming!
Thanks Davey… Let me know how you like that chicken. As for Rioja, I love it and Spanish wines in general because they are typically great value here. Anything I see imported by Jorge Ordonez I am willing to try. I notice though, that Spanish wines in general still seem to suffer from more inconsistency and even cork taint moreso than others. An apt discussion to have considering this specific post…….
Cheers!