2006 Bivio Chianti Classico

Earlier this week I was drinking a 2006 Bivio Chianti Classico.

The label says it has raspberry and blackberry notes with touches of violet and toasted almond.

This was another chianti that didn't bowl me over.  I sure didn't get the toasted almond notes.  It's a perfectly nice wine to go with a meal, but this wasn't anything special for casual sipping.  I didn't finish the bottle.

I forgot to jot down how much I paid for it, but it was $10 or $12 range.

2007 Castle Rock Syrah and 2003 Sant'Appiano Chianti

I'm struggling with getting this blog out regularly because frankly I haven't been crazy about any of the syrahs and chiantis I've had (and I've been really busy). 

So I'm going to take a different tack: back to reviewing at least a couple cocktails a week in addition to these wine reviews.  I may even sneak in a beer from time to time.

So here are the 2 wines I've had in the last couple weeks, both middle-of-the-road red wines, not bad, not great, acceptable for a family meal or a dinner where the guest isn't anyone too important.

This chianti retails in the $15 range; I bought it for $12.  It's a nice pasta dinner wine.  The label says it's aged in oak for 6 months and in the bottle for 3.

The second is a 2007 Castle Rock syrah from California's Russian River Valley.  This bottle ran me about $10.  The label advertises notes of black cherry, smoke (guess I'll have to learn what smoke tastes like), and plums, with spice notes.  I would agree with the black cherry. 

This wine has a much more fragrant nose than other syrahs I've drunk this fall, and it was more drinkable right  out of the bottle without having to wait 30 minutes or more.  A good value for the price.

2008 Gabbiano Chianti

I'm still not making my 2 wine reviews a week goal, but I'm working on it.

The last few days I've been drinking a 2008 Gabbiano chianti. The label says this vineyard [or winery], located in the Chianti Classico region, has been around since the early 1100s.

 

The Chianti Classico region is one of the 7 subregions in the chianti-making part of Italy.  Wikipedia reports that "Wines labeled Chianti Classico come from the biggest sub-area of Chianti, that sub-area that includes the old Chianti area."

This bottle ran me $15, but it tastes more like an under-$10, pizzeria red wine. There's  nothing wrong with Lady and the Tramp spaghetti vino, but this bottle didn't have any strong notes that hit my nose or my palate.  I bet it would be good with spaghetti actually.

This is another red wine where I didn't finish the bottle, which didn't happen much with the sauvignon blancs last summer.  One of these weeks I'll find a syrah or a chianti that I really go for.