Happy new year!! It certainly was a great start to the year with this month’s tasting. I unfortunately missed out but the reviews of the night tell me I missed an excellent evening!
Ben Robson from The Bat and Bottle, based in Oakham, presented an evening of delight with wines from the region of Chianti. Including from Rufina and the Chianti Classico area, the biggest sub-area of Chianti in Tuscany. The offerings of the evening varied in style, geography, altitude and price but it was safe to say the one thing that was consistent was the quality of the wine. During the evening Ben introduced two types of wine to compare and contrast. These were a standard 2009 Rufina from Colognole with 20% Canaiolo grape and supplemented with Sangiovese (£14.50) alongside a Riserva ‘Don’ from the same vintage and the same producer. This being 100% Sangiovese.(£25) The next comparison was followed by a Chianti Classico from Le Miccine in Gaiole with a variety of grapes (£15.76) alongside a 100% Sangiovese Chianti Classico Riserva from the same producer. (£19.75) These side by side comparisons added an interesting perspective to the evening’s tasting.
I am told that this was probably the highest scoring evening possibly in the history of The Lincoln Wine Society. Two of the wines sampled scored between 6 and 7. Therefore definitely tickling the taste buds of the 30 attendees. The wine of the night was the Castell’in Villa a 2010 vintage Chianti Classico. This powerful red leans more to deep, dried fruit, smoke and spice than the floral elements found in cooler vintages. This we are told is grown by a Greek Princess originating from Switzerland and reputedly the most difficult woman in Italy!! (I’m guessing she had no hand in picking the grapes and the processes that followed. I’m sure she probably has done lots of sampling though!!) Her strive for perfection has certainly paid off with this wine and at a cost to you and me for just £17.50 the wine wowed and nearly swept the room with a score of 7 on it’s own! Ben, as usual, didn’t disappoint with his entertaining and informative presentation. If you are intrigued (like I am) to find out for yourselves why this wine scored so highly then you can order from their website www.batwine.uk.
I will be interested to know your thoughts so please let me know by emailing secretary@lincolnwinesociety.co.uk or by commenting on our Facebook page.
Happy drinking!