One of the pleasures of travelling by car is the ability to bring back wine and olive oil from good estates on the journey and at destination. In 2004 we stayed at Villa Vignamaggio which is an absolutely enchanting palace overlooking Greve in Chianti with beautiful formal gardens. A few years later we stayed in Umbria and visited the Adanti estate which makes much more elegant and harmonious wine than the blockbusters from mediatised estates like Caprai and Colpetrone. Drinking these bottles reminds me of how much I love being in Italy.
Chianti Classico Castello di Mona Lisa Riserva 1999 – Villa Vignamaggio – Alc. 13%. This was the best bottle by far of three or four; indeed I complained about cabbage like “off” flavours in a 2009 TN. Nothing like that here! Body was quite full and the fruit was richer and there were less acidity and minerals than often with CC but there was authentic Chianti tang and structure and lovely texture and shape; 16.5/20+++.
(Last time I posted on this wine Alex R complained about the kitschy nature of the wine’s name. Let me say to anyone feeling the same way that Mona Lisa (la Giaconda) is said to have been born at Villa Vignamaggio and that it is therefore fair game for the estate to use her name.)
Rosso dell’Umbria IGT Arquata 2003 – Adanti – Alc.14%, made from Cabernet Sauvignon and franc 45%, Merlot 45% and Barbera 10%. I enjoyed this bottle much more than one a year ago which I found jammy and difficult to finish; bottle variation, different pairing or a bit of both? The fruit was indeed rich with faint English fruit cake and liquorice notes, the texture and the tannins firm but there was a refreshing squirt of acidity (maybe Barbera’s contribution). Blind, this would have puzzled me and I might have guessed a modern St.Émilion GC but not 2003; 16/20+. (The 2001 version of the same wine was absolutely delicious.)