WTN: 1997 Felsina (Berardenga) Chianti Classico

[David M. Bueker]

Pasta with red sauce for a quick dinner last night.

I had opened another bottle of this in February. It had a poor cork and the wine was less than satisfactory.

This bottle was another story. The cork was perfect, the wine color a lovely ruby red, and the aromatics of crushed cherry and strawberry with an earthy core. The palate is nearly fully resolved and quite soft (much a product of the '97 vintage I am sure), with plenty of fruit, but also some earth and leather notes. THis is drinking about as well as it ever will, and that is quite well.

David,
I drank all of my '97 Felsina. I like this producer and get it most every year. My notes are similar to yours and I think the '97s are not typical and way too soft and lack acidity. Drank everythin in CC from '97 but held a few Brunellos.
Walt

[David M. Bueker]

Walt,

Had a '99 recently? I have a few & would be curious as to your thoughts.

David

David,
All other things being equal the order in which I drink, or drank, my Chianti is '98, '97, '00, '99, '01. Loved the '98s because of the acidity but was probably in the minority, '97 just to low acid and not typical for my palate, '00 beautiful but early drinking, '99 big fruit, darker flavors, ages well and much better than '97 IMO, '01 best of all and will age well. Next to Bordeaux, Italian Sangiovese is our #2 grape. It is our go to food wine that fits the type of meals we prepare.
Walt

[David M. Bueker]

Thanks Walt.

Had the 95 a month or so ago, absolutely lovely. But I guess that one will have more acid support to age than this 97?

Had the 95 a month or so ago, absolutely lovely. But I guess that one will have more acid support to age than this 97?

Rahsaan,
I did not comment on the '95. You are correct it is a beautiful wine. I have only one bottle left. It is ready and hard to believe it will get any better. Shows how good CC ages gracefully.
Walt

I did not comment on the '95. You are correct it is a beautiful wine. I have only one bottle left. It is ready and hard to believe it will get any better. Shows how good CC ages gracefully.

I also wondered how much better it could get, but my dining companions (with more experience) seemed to differ.

And, I have had 40 year old Chianti that was quite lovely, so I guess in the long scope of things the 95 could be considerd "young" - but I don't know much about the vintage..

Regardless, there was so much pleasure with the 95 today, anyone would be forgiven for drinking them all

[David M. Bueker]

The '94 Felsina 'Rancia' was a great bottle for several years. I drank through all mine, but what a delicious wine.

My local shop has the 2003 Felsina CC for sale. Blech, 2003!

The '94 Felsina 'Rancia' was a great bottle for several years. I drank through all mine, but what a delicious wine.

My local shop has the 2003 Felsina CC for sale. Blech, 2003!

I will make a gross generalization that many will not agree with. 2003 is a year to avoid almost everywhere. I am not buying any '03 to cellar. Had a few really nice '03 Chablis that were good bargains and fun to drink but not worth holding more than one more year. OK, now let's hear everybody that dissagrees
Walt

2003 is a year to avoid almost everywhere. I am not buying any '03 to cellar. OK, now let's hear everybody that dissagrees

I disagree.

Oh, was I supposed to justify that

Many many great German rieslings from 03 that I would cellar if I had the time/space/money, and while I don't buy many 03 wines in general because of my need to do Precise Purchasing for short-term consumption and I agree many of the wines can be sloppy, I tasted some nice 03 Loire reds that will age as monuments to the vintage, of course the 03 Loire sweet wines, and then apparently there is more to France than the Loire, but I haven't tasted much of it yet..

[David M. Bueker]

While I generally agree that 2003 is a vintage to avoid (hence my blech comment), there are some monumental wines that will stand the test of time. Prum's 2003 Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Auslese, and the wine of the same name by Selbach-Oster are two of the greatest German Rieslings I have tasted. The 2003 Leoville Barton stays on the right side of overripeness, and will be a benchmark wine for that fine estate. There are a few others, but in general I again agree.

Oh, was I supposed to justify that

Many many great German rieslings from 03 that I would cellar if I had the time/space/money, and while I don't buy many 03 wines in general because of my need to do Precise Purchasing for short-term consumption and I agree many of the wines can be sloppy, I tasted some nice 03 Loire reds that will age as monuments to the vintage, of course the 03 Loire sweet wines, and then apparently there is more to France than the Loire, but I haven't tasted much of it yet..

I knew this would happen. My comments relate to all wines except German. I have no idea if '03 was a good year or bad year in Germany. You could put what I know about German wines on the head of a pin and still have room for more wine information. This is not a value judgement but a statement of ingnorance. Like em when I taste them but just don't know anything about them. Now, about Loire reds. I have a defective CF gene and do not purchase/cellar them (have 2 bottles). When I taste a CF from the Loire all I ever seem to get is green vegetal flavors therefore I think '03 was a bad year but hey; I think all years are bad.

Walt

When I taste a CF from the Loire all I ever seem to get is green vegetal flavors therefore I think '03 was a bad year

That's curious, if you don't like green or vegetal flavors then 03 should be your year for Loire CF, as they are quite rare.

Of course it still may not be worth your time. Which is what you're saying I suppose.