Sunday, March 23, 2014

Saturday Night – Birthday time! – Part 1

Kathy’s Birthday was this past Friday so we kicked things up a notch for this Saturday night’s dinner.  In addition to Mick and Amy we also had our next door neighbours Joe and Olivia joining us. 
 

Kathy requested Wolfgang Puck’s Chicken Alfredo as the main course for her dinner, so I decided to go with an Italian based theme for the evening.  My first course was an Anti-Pasto with all sorts of goodies – Calabrese salad, a selection of Italian cold cuts, a roasted red pepper dip with crackers, a pickle tray and fresh sliced baguettes.  I paired this with a 2009 Fattoria La Ripa Chianti Classico Reserva.

The nose on the wine was big and easy to find with rich leather, tar, black cherry and wood aromas.  Tasting the wine, raspberry with a touch of menthol were the dominate flavours.  The wine had a precise narrow mouth-feel that was nice balance of acidity, tannin and alcohol and it came across very smooth.  It was a decent pairing but was thrown a bit by some of the spicier meats. 


Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 90, Mark – 89 Kathy – 89, Amy – 89, Overall – 89.25.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

FATTORIA LA RIPA CHIANTI CLASSICO RISERVA 2009

VINTAGES 984401
750 mL bottle
Price $ 26.95
Made in: Tuscany, Italy
By: S.A. Santa Brigida S.R.L.
Release Date: Jan 18, 2014
Wine, Red Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Style: Medium-bodied & Fruity
Varietal: Sangiovese/Canaiolo
Sugar Content: 4 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry


Tasting Note -  A dense, muscular style, with saturated cherry, iron and earth flavors. Dry and savory in the best sense, this offers a lingering aftertaste of tart cherry, tobacco and earth notes. Best from 2014 through 2024. Score - 92. (Bruce Sanderson, winespectator.com, Oct. 31, 2012)

This was a certainly a solid wine and a decent value at its $27 price point.  The nice thing is I just picked this up from the LCBO on Friday so if you wish to try a bottle for yourself, there is still plenty of stock left.

Click here for Part 2

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