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EP 979 Blind Tasting Chianti

Gary Vaynerchuk blind tastes 3 different Chiantis with some interesting results.

Wines tasted in this episode:

Carpineto Chianti ClassicoChianti Classico
2007 Felsina Chianti Classico RiservaChianti Classico
2007 Ricasoli Chianti Classico BrolioChianti Classico

Links mentioned in todays episode.


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luca bercelli

90/100

Line of the day – ‘This I pretty much drilled in my opinion. I’m happy where my palate is at.’

Nice episode that tells a lot about Chianti – ie avoid!

Tags: Blind Tasting, chianti, red, review, Video, wine, wines

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  • Pirata Cofresi

    “Struck out” from Gary’s perspective and palate, which if you haven’t found out yet, it is not infallible!

  • Anonymous

    Been there done that. Nope.

    And my crack habits have no affect on my ability to smell or taste.

  • Pirata Cofresi

    LOL!!! Just joking my brother! Everyone has an opinion, however misguided it could be…

  • Anonymous
  • Anonymous

    I think your experience in this show is pretty typical of my Chianti experience. Decent Chianti that reflects the terroir of Tuscany is certainly nice wine, but the prices for that type of Chianti are a bit much. I’m not a big Chianti fan in general and prefer the bigger (and much, much more expensive) Brunellos or Rosso di Montalcino instead if I am looking for true Tuscan expressions of Sangiovese. So that’s my mini-thesis.

  • Anonymous

    Ahhh, I see what you did there…..lol

    It’s all good. No worries, with some time and experience you’ll be on the road to better wine… :-p

  • Gary, my Chianti experience is limited, I know there are a few I’ve had where I just thought they were too thin and lacking the kind of umpf and flavour that I want in the food friendly wines that I want to drink. I haven’t had any in a really long time and I think I should dive back into the game with a little help. I think I am going to try and find the Felsina. I trust your pallet and I want to try and find a typical Chianti and train my pallet to discover a taste for it. My pallet has definitely changed when I first tried the Chianti. I used to be left bank bordeaux style wine all the way but now I am leaning more towards dirty, dusty barolo and bourgogne pinot. Time will only tell.

  • NY Pete

    good stuff BDude

  • Anonymous

    Good show Gary.. i like Chianti and drinks it from time to time, and always with food…

  • Anonymous

    Overall GV would have liked a little more decription of the wines even if they are not the most complex you have ever tasted. That said, I love the blind shows.
    QOTD: I actually really love Chianti in general. It is also the varietal that got me into wine. That said, I have not been drinking much b/c it tends to be overpriced

  • Anonymous

    Thank you.

  • Anonymous

    QOTD – plenty of other things to drink, why drink over-priced uninspiring wine?

  • Anonymous

    nice show !!!!

  • DaveAll

    ah, that helps. thanks!

  • Jeff

    Once again, the K-Murph brown bag leads to wines disliked by Gary V.

  • Anonymous

    Chianti Chianti Chianti…maybe THE most debated wine area in the world. I love it, because it is a real problem child. They make the most lousy overpriced crap wine in the world and at the same time the area produces some of the worlds most fantastic wines.

    One of my favourite of all is actually the Brolio, but not the Classico. Their premium Chianti (not their “super-Tuscan”), Castello di Brolio is fantastic, and Gary please get it on the show. I’d love to hear your comments on it. See if you can get the 2006…

  • Anonymous

    I’m not as into Sangiovese / Chianti as I was a few years ago. I think for several reasons my exposure to it was higher and I just don’t seek it out any longer. With nearly unlimited choices but only so much time, I’d rather drink a Bandol or entry-level Barolo, or a Dry Creek Valley wine. The varietal has a place no doubt, a very significant place, and there’s also no doubt that it can be an incredible wine, it just doesn’t deliver most of the time.

  • laurensNL

    Agree! Chianti is too expensive, ego’s aside and reinvent yourself please!

  • Anonymous

    Pretty much meh on Chianti. There are so many good cheap wines from Chile, Argentina and Portugal to pay that much for tradition or history.

  • Anonymous

    I agree with you on Chianti. It is pretty good, but nothing great and there are much better wines from around the world for the money.

  • Anonymous

    I’ve had the Ruffino Gold and enjoyed it and a few nice Chiantis in restaurants, but
    in general, they don’t really rock my world. Lots more Italian wines from other regions to explore and sooo many varietals, it’s going to be a work in progress for a long time to come.

  • Anonymous

    When I think of chianti, I think of a fun, not sophisticated beverage just to have with a simple meal at home. After all, this is the original purpose of most wine.

  • QOTD – I will try a glass on a wine list, but have not been really loving anything lately. Hoping for a change. I really want that surprise well price chianti when you are having dinner at the local italian restaurant. I will keep trying…

  • Anonymous

    I think there’s good, reasonably priced chianti out there, but there’s a lot more that’s average, and this was a selection of them. I love Felsina, but in my experience the regular Chianti and this Riserva are overpriced because of the Felsina name. The best Felsina sangiovese goes into the Rancia Riserva and the Fontolloro (IGT, but 100% Sangiovese from the Chianti Classico district). Those are more expensive than this, but better value for the money. Brolio also makes some decent wines (although not IMHO comparable to the best Felsina wines), but this lower priced entry is not one of them. I’ve never liked the Carpineto wines, but it was unfair to match their entry level 2008 against wines from the better 2007 vintage. Melini and Badia A Coltibuono both make Chianti Classicoss for around $20 that are very good, and one wonders why KMurph didn’t include the La Maialina Riseva 2007, $17 at WL and 92 points Galloni.

  • Anonymous

    I am a big Chianti fan, if you can find the right one at the right price. if one can find an old world/earthy style for under $25, it is a great style. in my optinion it is never meant to be over priced, hot, ripe or jammy. the 2007 Isole e Olena is a good example right now.

  • Todd

    Damn GV, your palette was on point today!
    QOTD: don’t drink that much Chianti, QPR barbera, dolcetto crush Chianti for me, and if I spend more than $30 on some Italian wine, good Nebbiolo wins out over chianti every time for me.

  • Anonymous

    I love Chianti. I have recently been trying a few different bottles and I liked the Ruffino that cost about 20 bones.

  • Anonymous

    I used really enjoy good Chianti’s and agree that (IMO) blending in Cab and Merlot is a HUGE mistake for this classic region of Italy.

    QOTD: I’m also disenchanted with Chianti’s as of the last couple of years.

  • Anonymous

    QOTD: Not that big on chianti I have had a few in the past that I thought were ok, but otherwise I will pass on it.

  • Anonymous

    Q: I love chianti, there are good ones out there but also a lot of crap. Agree that many are becoming too contemporary in their styling.

  • agreed down on Chianti in general. suggest one that will change my opinion? that is affordable $10-20?

  • Anonymous

    I still quite like Chianti – love Sangoviese in general – but I’ve definitely had quite a few poor bottles from the region.

  • Anonymous

    GV – Straight brown baggin’ it!

    QOTD: Love the Sango and have been pleasantly surprised as of late by some inexpensive ones, such as the Castella D’Abola!

  • Anonymous

    Brolio I had to check my Cellartracker score because I rang a bell. and low and behold did try it TWICE, which I didnt even know I did, and both scores were the same freaky!
    01/29/2011
    Ripe Sour Cherry, Floral/popurri
    T: Med acid, med+ body, med intensity, med tannin
    Soft bitter tannins, red fruit

    03/01/2010
    A: Clean, Pronounced
    Tar, Light Fruit, Cola, Mineral [Grill Brick]

    T: Dry, High Acid, High Tannin, Med Body
    Sweet Vanilla Cherry, Cola, Grape Candy, Polished

    Conclusion well Polished wine a lot of upright fruit not my style but can see a lot of people liking this, apparently there is 15% Syrah in here

  • Anonymous

    oh qotd: I like Brunello’s

  • Hey Gary

    QOTD: I find Chianti an interesting prospect. It SHOULD be a wine I live; lively acidity, food friendly, savoury flavours; but I do agree that it just doesn’t offer the value it should. There are Chianti’s I do like and when you shop around there are nice wines, but I’d never order it at a restaurant because you’re always paying through the nose, and sadly this is when you should order it.

    Cheers
    Andrew

  • Anonymous

    I agree that Classicos and Riservas are pricey and too new world-ish in general. However, my recent experiences with straight Chianti have been different. I drink Chianti regularly and I’ve run across some good ones. Gabbiano is reliable, and the 2009 Toscolo (from Neil Empson) is classic. They’re built for food. Outside Chianti, Antinori’s Santa Cristina (which used to be a Chianti) is a nice Chianti knock-off, despite being 20% Merlot. Keep those Italian taste-offs coming!

  • Had a very nice Chianti Classico Riserva tonight: Barone Ricasoli Rocca Guicciarda 2007.
    Beautiful nose of luscious black fruit, chocolate, coffee and violets. Very yum yum. 12 Euros in Italy.

  • Still liking Chianti, but moved on to Chenin Blanc for pizza wine. When I was in Tuscany last year, I tried heaps of different Chiantis, and saw a great variation of styles. It’s not my favourite style, but I’m very happy to drink it with other people who like it.

  • Anonymous

    I’m always looking for wines from different regions, different varietals and I seem to always run into trouble finding a good chianti. Actually drinking a 2006 Villa Cafaggio Chianti Classico Riserva right now and I am definitely enjoying it. It has been open for 2 hours and finally starting to open up and show.

    QOTD Love Sangiovese and think I have finally found a chianti that I’d be willing to put on my table when Im serving a bolognese.

  • p wicks

    Dude, Felsina rocks! I think you let it sit in the glass a few more minutes and it’s gold…Although 2006 was a little better than 2007. The Felsina Chianti Classico 2006 was our everyday wine in Siena for the Palio and Italian language classes in July of 2009…I know Gary, it’s a heavy burden you bear! Keep up the good work!

  • I just visited Felsina. Caterina (granddaughter of the founder) gave us a tour. It was awesome!

  • I enjoy chiantis. When I’m getting pizza or pasta with a pomodoro sauce, I explore a chianti on the menu that I’ve never had. Mostly I pleased. Light and fruity wines. If I owned a vineyard, I would definitely end each day of work sipping from a jug of chianti…or maybe Moscota D’asti.

  • Steve Mulligan
  • Steve Mulligan
  • Steve Mulligan

    sniffy sniffy…. haha!

    http://www.thefreewineblog.com/

  • af

    I am huge fan but do readily admit that the styles/types can be confusing for consumers. What Gary didn’t mention is that these are all Chianti Classicos, which mean they are from the specific Classico DOCG, and yet they were all very different. Now factor in all the other Chianti DOCGs and you have literally thousands of wines in hundreds of styles. You could drink “Chianti” from Tuscany for years and never try the same bottle twice. Another issue for me regarding these 3 wines is that they were all from larger producers – there are so many outstanding wines in this region that most people will never hear of unfortunately.

  • luca bercelli

    90/100

    Line of the day – ‘This I pretty much drilled in my opinion. I’m happy where my palate is at.’

    Nice episode that tells a lot about Chianti – ie avoid!

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