Synopsis, Our Opinion: A drinkable grocery store red wine in a delightful bottle that oozed character.
Producer/Winery: Castello Banfi; bottled by Placido S.A.; Montalcino, Ita;y.
Grape Variety: Chianti Blend – 95% Sangiovese and 5% Canaiolo Nero
Geographic Appellation: Chianti, Tuscany, Italy.
Vintage: 2015
Price: $8.99 (with a 10% mixed case discount)
Purchased From: Ralphs Grocery Store; Agoura Hills, Californiarnia.
Paired With: Pizza with grilled chicken, pesto, mushrooms, tomato, onion, green peppers and Asiago cheese.
Tasting:
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A couple of weeks ago we were perusing the wine shelves in the local grocery store and ran across this bottle of Chianti in a wicker basket wrapped bottle. It brought back such wonderful memories of the delicious Italian dinners we had while at Penn in the late 60’s and we just had to buy a bottle. Knowing full well at the $9 price point is was not going to be great Chianti we bought it simply as a lark…and here’s what we got.
Opened 30-minutes before drinking. Clear, garnet/purple color with the same color rim. Little or no aroma, quite dense with at least a medium weight opulent body, slightly dry and a 400 grit texture. Indistinguishable dark fruit and green herbal flavors, fresh acidity and smooth tannins. A wine that resembled any generic red blend more than Chianti, but was very drinkable, not overly sweet and not anything like the “Not Bad” Chianti we used to get in these picturesque bottles years ago. In the end it was a drinkable grocery store red wine in a delightful bottle that oozed character. And, we have already put a candle in the bottle and have it on the patio table. We recommend it simply because the memories alone were worth many times the price of the wine!!!
Photo from Castello Banfi.
Alcohol Content: 13%
Closure: Reconstituted cork.
UPC Code: 0 80516 16024 5
Imported by: VB Imports; Old Brookville, New York.