2005 Isole e Olena Chianti Classico

[Duane Meissner]

My first Chianti. I was dissapointed. Simple, thin, and what I would have to call sour.

What would that be? Is there a better descriptor than "sour"? Should I stay away from Chiantis, or is what I described atypical? I paid just over $20 after taxes.

DM

[winoweenie]

Hate it whenced this happens. Did some " leather-tongue...ie; Bucko " on the board reccomend this hummer? I've gone thru this 6,412 times so don't venture too far from my comfort zone without a strong recco. Sorry but done' give up drinking. WW

[hotwine]

There are plenty of quality Chianti Classicos out there. One we had tonight with eggplant parmesan is the '03 Antinori Riserva.... wonderful wine, at about $23. There are others that are cheaper, but that's the best we've run across.

[VouvrayHead]

I've had this wine, though not this vintage, and found it to be fairly good.
4 possibilities:
not enough air or too young
bad vintage
bad bottle
you just don't like chianti, which does have high acid and often not a lot of fruit and certainly likes food...

[Duane Meissner]

It's not that I thought it was terrible. I still finished most of the bottle. I was just expecting to be a little more pleased for $20.

I suspect I just don't like Chianti. Interestingly enough, I had it with eggplant parm. as well, so it's not that I didn't have anything to tame it. Drank it slowly through the evening (5+ hours) with no change, so it's not the oxygen. Bad vintage? Perhaps. I'll probably just steer clear for awhile. There are plenty of other new things to try.

[wondersofwine]

I sometimes prefer Chianti on the second night after opening. Sometimes it mellows a bit overnight in the refrigerator.

[Duane Meissner]

WOW,

I tried that too... same characteristics, but more so.