A Chianti

[Saina Nieminen]

Caparsa Chianti Classico "Doccio a Matteo" 1999
Sour cherries and sandalwood; crisp, bright red fruit, ripe but crunchy and dangerously moreish. IIRC, after the 1997 vintage, Caparsa started to use Barriques for this cuve - but I see no new wood aromas at all in this wine. Instead, it seems like the Platonic ideal of Sangiovese. Outstanding, perhaps? Only Podere le Boncie's "Le Trame" has been as breathtakingly pure - in my admittedly limited experience of Chianti - and that sees no Barriques. But the similarities of these two wines are still striking.

 

[Matteo Mollo]

check out Gabriele Buondonno's chiantis...i too love the purity of the Le Trame which i similarly find in Buondonno's wines, though in a different more rugged way.

sounds like a nice bottle that you had.

 

[Levi Dalton]

Caparsa is probably my favorite producer of Chianti outside of Castell'in Villa and Montenidoli. I have not found a problem with wood on the Doccio.

The other producers mentioned here are also good, but I don't have as much love for Le Trame as I used to.

 

[VLM]

originally posted by Levi Dalton:
Caparsa is probably my favorite producer of Chianti outside of Castell'in Villa and Montenidoli. I have not found a problem with wood on the Doccio.

Have you found Montenidoli to be wildly variable? I don't have tons of experience, but what I have had has been all over the place.

I haven't had Caparsa, do you know who brings it in?

The other producers mentioned here are also good, but I don't have as much love for Le Trame as I used to.

Can you elaborate? I could never get into Le Trame and have been pilloried and cajoled into trying it repeatedly and doing different things to the bottle (decanting, opening in advance, drinking right away) because people I like swear by the wines.

 

[Levi Dalton]

originally posted by VLM:

originally posted by Levi Dalton:
Caparsa is probably my favorite producer of Chianti outside of Castell'in Villa and Montenidoli. I have not found a problem with wood on the Doccio.

Have you found Montenidoli to be wildly variable? I don't have tons of experience, but what I have had has been all over the place.

I haven't had Caparsa, do you know who brings it in?

The other producers mentioned here are also good, but I don't have as much love for Le Trame as I used to.

Can you elaborate? I could never get into Le Trame and have been pilloried and cajoled into trying it repeatedly and doing different things to the bottle (decanting, opening in advance, drinking right away) because people I like swear by the wines.

Sometimes there is an oxidative, flat quality to a Montenidoli red where you wouldn't expect it. Other times, pure heaven. I've never had a problem with an Montenidoli white, which are in a class by themselves for Vernaccia. Also, there is a really greatness to be found amongst all of the bottlings. I pour the 2009 Rosato right now. I really like the regular Chianti Colli Senesi. The Il Garrulo is a wonder of interest in a low weight key that is unique. The Sono Montenidoli is for me the most variable, but can be really great.

I really like Montenidoli.

Caparsa is distributed in NY by Artisan.

My problem with Le Trame is that you get these weird textural oddities where it seems like the spine is not integrated with the rest of the wine. This has a tendency to come out more with a bit of age.