Tuscany

• Brunello di Montalcino
• Chianti

Ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose has a lot of earthy barnyard, but also some cherries, macerated cherries and tea leaves.  Medium bodied.  Tart acidity.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, cherries with earthiness.  Nice finish.  Drinking well but the barnyard may be a bit much for some.  Drink over the next five years.  Better with food.  Bistecca alla Fiorentina or other steak dishes should work well.

Great showing for this wine.  Ruby/purple in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, slight black cherries, tea leaves, sandalwood and dust.  Firm tannins.  Good acidity.  On the palate, sour cherries with some fresh cherries and underlying forest floor.  Nice finish.  This is still young and may improve with further cellaring.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  Probably better with food.  Tordelli Versiliesi or other pasta dishes would be great.  

Purple/ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  On the nose black cherries, dust, some cherries and tea leaves.  Medium bodied.  Silky texture.  Black cherry fruit with some underlying forest floor.  Tight and tannic.  This seems riper than other vintages but also seems very closed.  Eventually it opened up after a couple of hours in the glass.  Maybe hold for a couple years and drink for ten after that.  It will work better with food.  Maybe Potato Tortelli would be a nice match young.  

Ruby/purple in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is earthy/sweaty socks along with cherries and slight anise.  Medium bodied.  Light tannins.  Lovely texture.  On the palate, cherries and tea leaves.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  There is a nice depth as well.  Nice on its own, but better with food.  Drink over the next five to eight years.  It would work well with Braised meat and pasta.

Ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose has a "dusty attic" quality to it along with cherries.  Light bodied.  On the palate, light tannins.  Cherries turning a bit candied on the finish.  Good acidity.  This is a bit lighter in style but still true to its Chianti roots.  Better with food than on its own.  This would be nice with a creamy Tuscan Chicken dish.  

Ruby in color, purple at the core, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is earthy with cherries, sandalwood and smoke.  Good acidity.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, cherries with some char.  Nice finish.  This wine will work better with food.  A great choice with a plate of pasta.  Drink over the next five to eight years.  

Perhaps the top Chianti, and certainly better than most Brunellos.  Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, some black cherries, hints of anise, smoke and tea leaves.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this is versatile and delicious.  Cherries, forest floor and char with strong acidity.  Long finish.  This is still young but will drink well for another twenty years.  If drinking soon, give it some air.  This is made for food and while nice on its own, is better with food.  Pizza or pasta would be great, but this will also work well with braise

This Super Tuscan is a blend of 90% Sangiovese and 10% Colorino.  Deep garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is nice with black cherries, spice and tea leaves.  Full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, black cherry fruit with smoke and forest floor notes.  Good finish.  This seems to be at maturity although it may still develop a bit.  Drink over the next five to eight years.  A nice match with grilled pizzas.  

Having tasted this back in 2010, it was nice to revisit this.  Deep garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright.  Lovely nose of cherries, sandalwood, black cherries and tea leaves.  Medium tannins.  Good acidity.  On the palate, black cherries, some cherries with underlying forest floor.  Nice finish.  Still on the youthful side but starting to show some maturity.  Complex and deep.  Tightly layered.  This should drink well for another seven to fifteen years.  Very nice with a pasta with tomato vodka sauce.  

Another top BdM from the consistently top producer.  Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, spice, and a bit of tobacco.  Medium to full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this has a tight complexity that unwinds in the glass.  Lots of cherry fruit with some underlying forest floor and slight tea leaves.  Good finish.  This is a classic pizza wine and in fact, went great with some really creative wood fired pizza.  Drink over the next ten years.