Wine School-Mystery Wines, January 7, 2014

Theme: Mystery Wines

I thought we would start 2014 with a little mystery!  These wines were all one varietal, but a little different.  Interestingly, they really stumped everyone!  Had I not known what they were, I would have been stumped too!

The Wines:

Santa Margherita 2009 Chianti Classico Riserva (Wine A)

• Color:  Ruby red with a hint of purple-the inkiest of the three wines
  
• Nose:  Floral notes on the back end. Not a lot of fruit with a hint of oak and slight earthiness
  
• Mouth:  Light tannins, fairly acidic with a hint of metallic
  
• Price:  $13

Banfi Chianti 2009 Classico  Reserva (Wine B)

• Color:  Brick red with a touch of ruby red
  
• Nose:  Earthier than the first wine with a hint of tar. Lisa said the wine smelled like the powder her grandma always used!
  
• Mouth:  Earthy and rustic wine with firmer tannins than the first wine
  
• Price:  $17

Gabbiano Bellezza 2009 Chianti Classico (Wine C)

• Color:  Ruby/brick red
  
• Nose:  Most floral on the nose of the three wines. We all agreed that there wasn’t much fruit on the nose of any of the wines.
  
• Mouth:  Medium tannins, not much fruit – none of these wines are “jumping” out to us!
  
• Price:  $25

Overall Conclusion:  Lisa was correct identifying the wines as Chianti-congratulations to her! We loved the wines with the lasagna-a perfect match! All agreed that these are wines best enjoyed with food. Our favorite cheese of the evening was the Havarti Dill and we very much enjoyed the Sea Salt chocolate paired with the Chianti.

 The Pairings

• Gouda Cheese:  The cheese brought out a bit of fruit in these wines, it made the third wine more interesting. Overall, the cheese was a bit too creamy for the wines.
  
• Havarti Dill Cheese:  Very nice with the Banfi Chianti. Mary Jo found that it added minerality when paired with the Gabbiano Chianti.
  
• Smoked Cheddar Cheese:  Our least favorite cheese pairing of the evening. The smokiness of the cheese clashed with the wines. 
  
• Lasagna:  Wow, the lasagna was delicious and a great pairing with the wine. The lasagna and wine together was the biggest hit of the night!
  
• Sea Salt Chocolate:  Definitely our favorite chocolate of the evening. It was perfect with Santa Margherita.
  
• Dark Chocolate:  We enjoyed with the Gabbiano the most, although the Sea Salt chocolate was definitely a better pairing.

Conclusion:

Beth:  It is always fun putting our knowledge and experience to the test. Congratulations to Lisa for correctly identifying the correct varietal of the evening – Chianti. And a big thanks to Mary Jo for putting the class together. As we have found in the past, we really enjoy Italian wines much more with a meal. If you are looking for a wine to sip by the fire on a cold winter night, I would not recommend the wines we shared this evening. But to share a hearty meal with good friends, Chianti is perfecto! If asked to pick my favorite wine of the evening, I would have a hard time choosing between the Santa Margherita and Banfi Classico Reservas. Both were fantastic with the lasagna and the Sea Salt chocolate.

Lisa:  I always love blind tasting and I think Mary Jo gave us a little hint with the lasagna (Italian wines pair great with Italian food).  Thanks Mary Jo!  And the lasagna WAS delicious with all the wines!  My second best favorite pairing of the night was the Sea Salt chocolate. Oh my!  Cheeses were good too and I agree that the Havarti Dill was the winner of the three. Now I am more motivated than ever to take a trip to Italy.  But just to pick a favorite for the night, I would have to go with Banfi.  However, the Santa Margherita was a very close second.  Maybe I should try them again :)! Fun night!!

Mary Jo:  I was excited about this tasting!  We had not tasted Chiantis in a while and, frankly, I don't think we have had enough Chiantis to really be able to distinguish them as well as the other varietals.  Personally, I wasn't blown away, initially, by any of the wines.  However, I had hoped that they would improve with food.  I was right!  With the cheeses, I found Wine B (Banfi) to be the best with the Gouda and the havarti dill.  I really didn't like any of the three cheese with Wine C(Gabbiano).  Wine A(Santa Margherita) was the wine I most enjoyed with the lasagna.  As far as the chocolates, Wine A was best with the sea salt chocolate and I found Wine C to be best with the dark chocolate.  Ultimately, I liked the Banfi best.  However, the Gabbiano was definitely a close second.  A great class!  We definitely need to get more experience with Chianti!