We went to an Italian Wine tasting on Labor Day and some lovely wines were tasted, probably too expensive for this site, but worth noting. Here are some photos of the wines we tasted:
We spoke at length to an Italian wine aficionado and he had some interesting comments, the most important one was that Italian wines were made to be enjoyed ‘with food from the region’ for example, tomatoes. We kept that in mind when we had our tasting at home.
The first wine we tasted was a Da Vinci Chianti, 2008 ($10.99). It is impressive how the wine changes with food. Tasted alone the Chianti was acidic and insipid. We were both pleasantly surprised that with a homemade Neapolitan Pizza the acid from the tomatoes softened the acidity in the wine. The wine was complemented by the tomato based meal and opened up with some ripe fruit taste. It is 13% alcohol.
The next night we tasted a Tuscana Villa Antinori, 2006 ($17.98) which could be considered a ‘Super Tuscan’. It is a blend of Sangiovese (60%), Cabernet Savignon (20%), Merlot (15%), and Syrah (%5) and was lovely. It had a nice mid palate, good fruit and a nice finish. It also went well with Italian style food: tomatoes, basil, and pasta. It is 13.5% alcohol and was surprisingly good for the money- a good buy.
Da Vinci Chianti 2008 ($10.99) 89-90 pts
Tuscana Villa Antinori 2006 ($17.99) 92 pts
