We tasted them from youngest to oldest.
2010 - seems like a very good year but with much ripeness, almost a sweetness to the fruit, but gladly it still has crunch and tannin and a wonderfully refreshing finish. Very open aromatically, but very young, also. Only open if you like primary fruit.
2009 - again a ripe year with surprisingly dark fruited aromas for the grape and property. But it doesn't have any dried fruit character and it does have tangy structure. Nice!
2008 - a brighter aroma than the previous two but also less expressive and seems a bit shut down. Lovely brightness and crunch on the palate. A lighter, less ripe style and I suspect this will become lovely once it gets a few more years age.
2007 - another hot year and another where this producer still managed to make a magnificent wine even for my tastes, though I usually prefer the cooler years. Dark, sweet fruit but savoury, too, and with palate cleansing structure. Moreish and quite wonderful. But hold.
2006 - this was gorgeous from the moment the cork was pulled. Wonderfully open, at the richer end of the spectrum that I find nice for my tastes, but with, as in all these wines, wonderful liveliness on the palate. Rich, opulent but refreshing and moreish. Some wineries, like Musar (
) and Podere le Boncie, apparently can make warm years in such a refreshing way that I, too, enjoy drinking them. I wonder why so many other producers then make wines in hot years that I can't really enjoy?2005 - a pretty wine, lighter in style than the previous ones, perhaps not quite as multifaceted, but harmonious and very pleasant. Though I just praised several hot year wines, I do like this lighter style, too. (Though was 2005 a cooler year in Chianti? Or is it just an illusion that I was tasting this wine as seemingly from a cooler one?)
2004 - a grumpy and aggressive wine that was not much liked around the table. I loved it! But this, if any, requires age. It's wonderfully structured and nervy but it is a bit rude and shows the drinker the middle finger. Hold.
2003 - dark aromas, but recognizably Sangiovese, hot year in style certainly, more so than any other; low acid but refreshing tannins and not too ripe fruit. Perhaps my least favourite of the evening, but still a nice wine that I very much enjoyed drinking. From what little else I've tried from Chiantishire in 2003 I find it amazing that Boncie not only made a drinkable wine but a very nice one, too.
2002 - the worst year in Chianti in recent decades? Not according to this wine which was absolutely gorgeous. Lighter colour, brighter aromas, a bit of lift and funk and really quite Musarish; wonderful brightness, vivacity and crunch. And incredible length. Beautiful wine. If I could buy any of these wines tonight, I would probably choose the 2002 because it is so wonderful now yet seems to have the energy to last and it is incredibly pretty.
2001 - young and still quite primary, "classic" in style; tangy and crunchy and palate-cleansing but with much ripeness, too. Very nice. But hold a couple years ideally. Though it's not a terrible crime to open now, either.
Podere le Boncie "5" 2011 - so called because it uses five grapes: a Sangiovese base with Mammolo, Colorino, Foglia Tonda and Ciliegolo. This is the "little brother" of the CC (in quotes, because it is a wonderful wine!): ripe and tangy; sweet and savoury; I don't know what those other grapes bring to the wine since it seems so Sangiovese-like to me. Nice!
"5" 2010 - but this was even better: more brightness, more crunch, more vivacity than in the 2011.
So to put it shortly, this seems to be one of the rare Sangioveses that I truly love, and it seems to be one of those wines, like Musar, that I can pretty safely buy in every year (if only I could find this!). Great tasting.
But then, of course, we had a couple blind treats after the tasting proper.
Vinupetra 2008 - an Etna Rosso, Nerello Mascalese IIRC. A reductive, inky, dark, herbal aroma; huge palate, tannic, extracted, more solid than liquid. Light years away from Cornelissen's Etnas. I'd need to try this again: this was intriguing, but I'm not sure I liked it.
Giorgio Grai Sauvignon 2006 - from Trentino. It smelled not so much of Sauvignon Blanc as young, warmish year Chenin Blanc from the Loire. Smells of peas. Rich, oily texture supported by deliciously high levels of acidity. If only more Sauvignon were like this.