IL GRIGIO

[WKING]

TRYING TO LOCATE IN USA OR IMPORATING OF IL GRIGIO DA SAN FELICE- CHIANTS CLASSICO RISERVA 1995.THANKS FOR THE HELP.

[misterjive]

Il Grigio is distributed by Oldbridge Imports (Deerfield Beach) here in sunny Florida. For anyone who has not tried it, it is most highly recommended--an old-school Chianti with 0% cabernet (so rare these days), and the white grapes included (trebbiano and malvasia, which, according to the DOC regulations of 1967, must make up 10 to 30 percent of the blend--unlike many Chiantis, Il Griogio also includes the "endangered" red grape canaiolo). Many wine writers (and Chianti producers) maintain that the time for these grapes is long past, and that their addition brings nothing but a pale and insipid note to sangiovese-based wines, and that furthermore, the white grapes possess the fault of being unageworthy. While I agree with many of these critics that Super-Tuscans are among the best (and most ageworthy) wines now made in Chianti, Il Grigio shows that a Chianti Classico made according to the so-called Ricasoli formula can be a sublime treat indeed. True, the wine is lighter than most of its rivals, and far less-oaked than that stateside favorite, Ruffino Riserva Ducale ("Gold"), but just try it alongside some ossobucco if you think oakier, more cabernet-influenced Chiantis are the only way to go. I believe you will find that Il Grigio is far more nuanced than Ruffino Gold, and fetches a less "fashionable" price as well!