Having trouble viewing this mail, please try viewing it online
Dear Winelovers,
It gives us pleasure to offer out the new vintage from our great traditional Chianti estate, Felsina. Felsina reflects the powerful style of southern Chianti and reveals a style similar to the great wines from Montalcino. Felsina is a benchmark estate for Italian wine drinkers who want to experience some of the best wine Tuscany has to offer. Prices remain exceedingly reasonable considering the quality of what is in the bottle. Sangiovese is the grape that makes up the wines of Chianti and is one of the world’s great grape varieties when grown in the right sites. Recent times has seen some producers opting for a more modern style of Chianti - one where there is generally more ripeness and exercising of the legislation where up to 20% of other “international” grapes (eg Syrah, Cabernet, Merlot etc) are allowed in the blend.
This is best summed up in a recent issue of Decanter
“..the myriad of wine styles available today mean that knowing your producer is as fundamental in Chianti Classico as it is in Burgundy”.
Felsina opts for a more traditional approach and is able to lure out the great characteristics of Sangiovese where the grape can ooze quintessential floral fragrance, earthiness and vibrant sour cherry and on the palate a brace of grippy fruit and balancing acidity.
The 2007 vintage on offer experienced extra heat compared to the firmer 2006s. As a result it yielded more fleshy, forward wines with a lot of generosity. There are four wines on offer, the Riserva, Riserva Rancia, Fontolloro and the Vin Santo.
The 2007 Riserva is from 50 year old vines grown on predominantely quartzitic sandstone. The vineyards are a stone’s throw northeast of Siena and sit at an altitude of 350-420 meters. Both small and medium barrels are used for the aging and the wine is not released before it is 2 years old (this is the law for Riservas).
The 2007 Chianti Riserva Rancia is from a single vineyard which lies entirely in the Chianti Classico zone, in the commune of Castelnuovo Berardenga. The vines were planted between 1958-1982 and grow on similar soils to the straight Riserva but there is more limestone present. Wonderful minerality and complexity here.
The 2007 Fontalloro is another of Felsina’s top wines. Labelled “IGT” as opposed to Chianti Classico due to the fact that some of the grapes come from vineyards in the Chianti Collo Senesi sub-zone (loamy and sandy soils) and therefore by law cannot be called Chianti Classico. It is 100% Sangiovese from old vines. Although quite powerful and structured, it is often more approachable than the Rancia in its youth.
Lastly, the 2001 Vin Santo is made from Malvasia, Trebbiano and 20 % Sangiovese. The grape clusters are air-dried on mates until January/February following the harvest. It then spends 7 years in small barrels and finally a year in bottle before release. One of the wine world’s reference-point dessert wines. Oxidative in style and perfect with hard cheeses.
Please see below for the full list of wines available and their accompanying tasting notes (from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate). In addition don’t miss the loose bottle offer also included below.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us with your queries/orders.
Kind Regards
The Great Domaines Team
FELSINA:
“If you were to cut proprietor Giuseppe Mazzocolin’s veins the man would bleed Sangiovese, such is his passion for Tuscany’s most important native grape.” - Robert Parker’s wine Advocate
“Not only are Felsina’s wines magnificent, they also remain exceedingly fairly priced in relative terms.” - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Vintage
Wine
Robert Parker
Steve Tanzer
Price per bot incl VAT
No. of bots
2007
Chianti Classico Riserva
91
89
R 275
2007
Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia
94
92
R 395
2007
Fontolloro IGT
93
96
R 395
2001
Vin Santo (375ml)
94
91
R 295
OTHER LOOSE BOTTLES OF ITALIANS
LOOSE BOTTLES AVAILABLE
2004
Barolo ‘Gavarini Chiniera’, Elio Grasso
93
91
R 595
3
2005
Barolo ‘La Vigne’, Sandrone
94
94
R 725
9
2007
Langhe Nebbiolo, Scavino
R 275
6
2004
Barolo, Scavino
91
90
R 595
12
2004
Barolo ‘La Vigne’, Sandrone (MAGNUM)
96
94
R 1395
3
2003
Barolo ‘Cannubi Boschis’, Sandrone (MAGNUM)
93
91
R 1450
2
2004
Barolo ‘Romirasco’, Aldo Conterno (MAGNUM)
95
94
R 2900
1
2003
Barolo ‘Cannubi”, Scavino
89
90
R 595
2
2007
Nebbiolo d’Alba ‘Valmaggiore’, Sandrone
90
91
R 275
12
2007
Chianti Classico, Felsina (MAGNUM)
R 425
2
2007 Chianti Classico Riserva
The 2007 Chianti Classico Riserva emerges with hints of smoke, underbrush, licorice, leather and wild cherries. The wine gains volume and depth in the glass as its sheer pedigree emerges over time. There is plenty of muscle to back up the delicate aromatics in a striking balance of elegance and power, all in an essentially classic, mid-weight style. The round, deeply satisfying finish makes it hard to put the glass down. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2027.
2007 Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia
The 2007 Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia bursts onto the palate in a big, brooding expression of Sangiovese from Castelnuovo Berardenga. Muscular and dense to the core, the 2007 powers all the way through to the long finish. Hints of smoke, tar, leather and scorched earth emerge over time, but only with great reluctance. In a vintage where so many wines are open, the Rancia comes across as quite stubborn and in need of at least five more years in bottle. That said, it is a standout, not to mention one of the greatest values in fine, age-worthy wine. In a second tasting the 2007 Rancia came across as decidedly more elegant and restrained in style, so it will be interesting to see where this ultimately settles within the context of recent vintages. Today I don’t think the 2007 has the elegance of the 2004 nor the power and ageworthiness of the 2006, but we will see. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2027.
2007 Fontolloro
The 2007 Chianti Classico Riserva emerges with hints of smoke, underbrush, licorice, leather and wild cherries. The wine gains volume and depth in the glass as its sheer pedigree emerges over time. There is plenty of muscle to back up the delicate aromatics in a striking balance of elegance and power, all in an essentially classic, mid-weight style. The round, deeply satisfying finish makes it hard to put the glass down. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2027.
2001 Vin Santo
The 2001 Vin Santo del Chianti Classico is a reference point wine that artfully balances a need for being contemporary while refusing to fall prey to the more modernist tendencies that favor sheer concentration above all else. The stunning bouquet alone is worth the price of admisssion. Dried figs, plums, prune, cinnamon, licorice and dried flowers are woven together in a fabric of unmistakable class. Slightly oxidative notes add complexity and inner sweetness, but this remains a restrained, mid-weight style of Vin Santo that in 2001 reaches an extraordinary level of finesse. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2021.
You received this email because at some point in the past you either bought one of our products or signed up to our mailing list. If you'd like, you can .
