Purchased in April of 2003, this was my first magnum - and I always had a Christmas dinner in mind. I know I always drink Pinot Noir with Turkey, but I just had this feeling that an aged Sangiovese would be particularly lovely...At the end of its first decade this 1999 Tenute Marchesi Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva displayed only faint brick hues, seemingly unfazed by its long repose. After nearly two hours in the decanter the wine came alive with an expressive, powerful, nose of tobacco and leather, violets and plums, wet paper...finishing the evening with smokey/flinty notes, sandalwood, and sweet nutmeg...beautiful. A gorgeous, soft velvety texture...it starts dry, crisp, and somewhat unbalanced, but with decanter time it all came together. Truly aged to perfection, and drinking so well now that I cannot recommend leaving it in the cellar (but it wouldn't suffer if you did).
cork. 13% alcohol
Score: 18/20
Price: C$119 (SAQ)
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3 comments:
Congratulations on consuming your first magnum. There is always something special about drinking from the large format bottles.
Thanks Uncorked - not the first magnum I have ever opened, but the first that I ever bought so it was pretty special. And that special-ness worked perfectly with Christmas dinner
I wish I could afford to have a large format wine collection. Their's just something so cool about big bottles and having a collection would be awesome. You'd need a pretty big cellar though. Cheers!
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