2005 Querceto Chianti Classico Riserva

The same evening the Vazart Coquart was consumed, my wife and I went out to eat with friends at a local Italian restaurant. While the sweltering temperatures outside were almost duplicated inside, we still had a nice time with some good food and this Chianti from a favorite producer of mine.

First up, I’ll be more than willing to declare I’m not a big Italian wine drinker. Yes, I do enjoy their sparkling wines, one of which I’ll be reviewing in an upcoming post. When it comes to the reds, it isn’t a section we do a lot of shopping in. We will grab the occasional Chianti and I do enjoy a good Primitivo, though I’ve not bought one in quite some time.

When I worked retail, I carried the entire lineup from Querceto, so I will say I’m a bit partial to this producer. It was also one of the few (maybe the only) wines I recognized on the restaurant wine list and it went for $38, which wasn’t bad since this is about a $20 wine at retail. The base Chianti will usually run around $9 and the Classico around $16.

Before committing, I did ask to see the vintage. They presented the 2005 and I said that would be fine, knowing the wine should still be in great drinking shape, assuming it was stored properly.

Quick lesson: Chianti Classico is one of 7 sub-regions within Chianti. It is the most commonly seen in the US and is the heart of the original region before expansion. Most would consider it to be the best place to make these types of wine. Riserva indicates a minimum aging of 24 months, with at least 3 in bottle. It doesn’t indicate (by law) anything more than that, though some producers may reserve all or most of their best parcels for Riserva.

The wine itself could be served at a cooler temperature, but then again, I find that with most red wines, especially in the majority of restaurants. As the wine sat in the glass, it did open up, so I recommend a good 30 – 45 minute decant and again, 65 degrees is where you want this to be at. I’d drink this now and over the next year or so for maximum pleasure.

A bit closed up at first, with the usual bright acidity and slightly astringent tannins showing more than anything, this really went much better with the food. Granted, I’d say that for just about all wine, but especially Italian reds. Once opened up, the flavors of dark cherry covered with bittersweet cocoa powder and baking spices made for an especially good pairing with my eggplant parmigiana. The acidity in both the wine and the sauce made for a sweeter taste in the marinara, but it also helped reduce the heavy nature of fried eggplant covered in cheese.

Next time I have this, I’ll order something with some spicier meats in it, like pepperoni or spicy ham. Now that I think of it, California Pizza Kitchen’s Sicilian Recipe frozen pizza (don’t judge) would work really well with this.

Overall, it was an above average effort and a solid value in comparison to sibling wines. I’d buy this again, though I’m usually pretty happy with the regular Classico for the $16 price point.

Haiku
Italian treat
From the core of Chianti
Pair with spicy meat

P.S. My apologies for the lack of a real photo. I did take one with my phone while we were out, but I seem to have deleted it before transferring it over to my computer. Oops. Oh well, you get the picture.

What others thought:

• Wineheimer (another local Atlanta wine blogger)
• Amant de Vin

Cheers,
Kevin