I was in Corti Brothers this afternoon and happened across some older Antinori wines they have for sale. They had the Tenute Marchesi Antinori CCR's from '93, '98, and 2000, each for $27/bottle. I couldn't resist that and grabbed one of the '93s. We opened it with a dinner of roasted chicken, mashed potatoes with chestnut puree, and endive gratin.
In the glass, this stuff looked brand new. Dark garnet color with little or no bricking. When first opened, it offered little on the nose and was quite tannic on the palate; seemingly pretty closed up. I double-decanted it, waited another hour, and things got going nicely. Expansive Chianti nose of herbs and violets. Flavors of red fruit, tobacco, some slightly sour acidity. Full in the mid-palate, with a finish dominated by soft tannins. Would have been a better match for beef than chicken, but still not too bad with dinner.
This stuff tastes like it has at least four or five years to go before peaking. Really delicious and one of those wines that you keep wanting to smell over and over.
Mike
