Chianti Classico Cries out for Pasta!

Since things have settled down in my life (i.e., my daughter has had her wedding), it's time to get back to looking at wine!

Today, I discovered a store that has been on my radar for the last little while - Everything Wine.

In the past, when I've seen their ads, it has seemed that most of the product is pretty inexpensive and, I assumed, a lot of cheap-o jug wine. Granted, there were a few wines that were a little more expensive but I had, in my mind, decided that this was a No Frills version of a liquor store.

Then I cam across an ad yesterday in the newspaper where Everything Wine advertised their latest Bordeaux wines. I was intrigued.

After my wife and I stopped off at Bosa Foods for some pasta and a new, fancy decanter, we made our way to Everything Wine in North Vancouver. I entered the door and was very impressed! They have a large assortment of wines ranging from the cheap jug wines all the way to fancy vintage wines.  I did manage to pick up a couple of bottles of Bordeaux wines but will blog about those later.

Previously, while at Bosa, we bought some fresh pasta and needed something to go with it. I found, in the rather large Italian section of Everything Wine, a Cafaggio 2013 Single Estate Chianti Classico for a mere $26. Single estate means that the wine was made with grapes from only the winery and  bottled on the estate. Chianti wines, by the way, are made in the Chianti region with Sangiovese grapes. Chianti Classico wines are from a smaller region within Chianti where the wines are usually better quality then regular Chianti wines.

Back at home, I poured the wine into the decanter. We had bought the decanter at Bosa and it was a Trudeau Ova Carafe - very nice design and a good price - $29. After about 5 minutes, I decided that we needed to at least have a taste so I poured a couple of small glasses.

The colour was ruby and clear. There was red fruit on the nose including cherry and raspberry. When I tasted it, there were some tannins as well as black currant, cassis and definitely some cherries. Unfortunately, it tasted a bit thin - almost a bit watery - which was initially a disappointment.

Then, I remembered - in places like France and Italy, you are meant to drink the wine with food. Maybe some food would help this wine? I had a couple of olives (our fancy appetizer) and took a sip. What a difference! The wine complimented the olives perfectly.

After another half hour, we tried the pasta (mushroom ravioli with a tomato, basil and pancetta sauce) and, again, the wine was a glorious pairing with the food! The thinness or wateriness was now a refreshing accompaniment to the pasta and the light tannins paired well with the tomatoes in the sauce.

The decanter made a difference, too. It tasted even better after a half hour!

After trying the pasta with food, I would rate it like this:
Balance - it was actually beautifully balanced when served with food
Length - it was a tasty wine but the taste did not linger very long
Intensity - not that intense
Complexity - there were some great flavours and, the way it meshed with the food, was definitely complex.
Expressive - I think this is how Chianti Classico is meant to be drunk - with a tasty bowl of pasta!

Overall, a good to very good wine - Cin Cin!

Super Chianti!

Remember these? Chianti with a nice straw bottom?

That was the Chianti of my youth. 

At first, I thought the straw was a distinctive element, reserved for a special wine. Then, I started to realize that much of the Chianti (with straw) was not that good. And then I stopped drinking it.

In a previous blog, I alluded to a visit to Rome a couple of years ago. While there, I did my best to drink a fair bit of wine and some variety as well. Near the apartment we were staying (in Trastevere), there was a little grocery story run by, I think, Pakistanis. Their selection of wines was not extensive or fancy but for a few Euros, we could buy a decent bottle of Chianti. 

The nice thing about Rome is that most of what you want to see is in a fairly compact area. We walked everywhere during our 10 day stay. It was a wonderful way to see such a unique and archetypal city and so we walked and walked and walked. Every day, it seemed like we walked for three or four hours. 

At the end of the day, sometimes we would go out for a wonderful meal - usually pasta with a shared appetizer and possibly dessert as well as a bottle of wine. 

But, sometimes, we were exhausted with all of our walking and all we wanted to do was have a seat and talk about our exciting day. On those days we would go to the local take out pizza place, choose a couple of different types of pizza pieces, and then stop at that Pakistani grocery store for a cheap, but tasty, bottle of Chianti. It was delizioso! 

While preparing to take the WSET course, I discovered a couple of things about Chianti...

•  Chianti is not a grape, but is a region - it is actually made from sangiovese grape (true fact - years ago, when visiting with my - at the time - little kids, I saw signs for Chianti at a bus stop that we were taking photos. I just figured the region was named after the grape!).
• Chianti, the stuff I had bought at home, was the lower quality wine - the higher quality wine is called Chianti Classico.

Today, back and the Dundarave Wine Merchant, I looked around while my wife shopped for some non-wine product at a clothing store. Unfortunately, the guy behind the till was not the same as a couple of weeks ago so I felt a bit on my own. I looked through Bordeaux wines, Burgundy, and some French whites but eventually found myself looking at the Italian wines. I thought, why not try the Chianti Classico - something I had never done before! 

 

The wine I tried was a Santa Margherita Chianti Classico ($28). It was a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) wine which is the highest category in Italy. 

Taking out my snazzy WSET Level 2 tasting card, I first looked carefully at the wine, It was a clear wine with light intensity and a ruby colour. On the nose, it showed red fruit, red cherry and some jamminess. Once I tasted it, I noticed more red fruit, strong plum flavour, a bit of strawberry and some raisin. There were, I think, medium tannins, which really made the wine well rounded and enjoyable. It had medium acidity and a medium finish.

It was another amazing pizza wine (we had left over pizza from last night) and would also go with BBQ and pork. It actually seemed like a pretty versatile wine but had some nice punch with the tannins. Maybe next time I should grab a bottle of Chianti to compare - just not the one with the straw bottom.....