Have you ever tasted a wine that tastes like an all-Italian restaurant menu all at once? That’s what you get from this week’s trial.
What is a tasting challenge? The challenge is an opportunity to improve your wine taste every week with 34 wines from 12 countries – The Wine Tasting Challenge.
Sangiovese – grapes and Chianti Classico – Italian wine region.
Call for wine tasting: Chianti – Glass Italy
Broaden your horizons and taste the most planted grapes in Italy this week: Sangiovese. During this third week of the experiment, you will learn that some wines are more than just fruit and can have serious spicy notes.
The Sangiovese is a grape that has many regional names: Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Nobile di Montepulciano are just some of the regional wines produced from this classic Italian grape variety.
For the challenge we went with the famous Tuscan son Chianti. In particular, we have tasted wine from the sub-region of origin of Chianti: Chianti Classico.
2017 Tenuta di Rennieri Chianti Classico
Take a look at this: Medium grenade.
Perfumes: Dried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, blackcurrants, a box of cigars, raspberries and some coffee.
In the palace: Lots of old leather and blackberries. It’s like dropping black fruit from the trunk of a bush and putting leaves in your mouth at random. The tannins dry his mouth, but they’re not persistent. A few roasted almonds and a few plums at the end.
Steamed food: You can see why Italians love Chianti with their food. Pasta with red sauce is a must for this wine. It’s also a good addition to bruschetta. And, of course, the steak.
What have we learned about Chianti Classico?
In the Chianti wine hunt you can find different types of Chianti wine, such as Chianti Classico, Chianti Montalbano or Chianti Rufina. So what does Classico mean?
The term Classico refers to wines from a specific sub-region of the Chianti region in Tuscany. As history shows, wine was already so popular in the 18th century that the Grand Duke issued an edict stating that only wines from a particular region could be called Chianti.
The decree was published in 1716, which means that Chianti was one of the first wine-growing areas to be officially defined (the other early wine-growing areas were Porto, Burgundy and Tokaj in Hungary).
The Classico region includes the original villages of Chianti Radda, Gaiole, Castellina and Greve.
If you want to know more, this article about Chianti describes the subzones and age classifications, including the Superzones, the Riserva and the Grande Celesion.
Last impressions
As far as Italian red wine is concerned, the Chianti seems to be a good starting point. It is not only made from the most important grapes in the country’s history, but also comes from a region absolutely steeped in the history of Italian wine.
Between history and taste, it’s an hour of wine in a glass!
What did Sangiovese try at #34Wines34Weeks this week? Have you chosen Chianti or one of the many other forms of Sangiovese? Let us know!
Has the challenge of wine tasting inspired you to immerse yourself in the knowledge of wine? Our Wine Kit 101 provides valuable information on the basics of viticulture.
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