Wine of the Week!

San Felice "Il Grigio" 2003      
Chianti Classico Reserva   $20

Here’s our Wine of the Week pick for you.  This week we are going Italian. 

San Felice “Il Grigio” Chianti Classico Reserva 2003 captures the flavor of the Chianti hills near Siena.  This is one hundred percent sangiovese wine. There’s the aroma of violets and the distinctive flavors of dark cherry with just a hint of toasty tobacco. 

It’s a terrific food wine. The tingle of acidity is the telltale of Chianti Classico and it pairs up ideally with the hearty foods and roasted meats of the Tuscan region. 

San Felice is a medieval village with an intimate hotel for modern visitors so you can savor the wines and countryside first hand if you like… and where we first tasted it.  San Felice “Il Grigio” Chianti Classico is value priced too at about twenty dollars. 

Start the pork roasting, get the sauce simmering, slice that strip steak!  This wine of the week is ready for whatever taste you’re looking for tonight. 

Pop the Cork™.

Wine of the Week - October 5, 2007

Winemaker's Notes and Comments: 

The San Felice farmland spreads over an area of 650 hectares, all within the area of Chianti Classico Docg, within the municipal area of Castelnuovo Berardenga and is only 17 kilometres northeast of Siena. Its altitude ranges between 300 and 450 metres above sea level. The main core of the property encircles the mediaeval village, on a plateau of roughly 50 hectares that descends southwest towards the Arbia River.

Sangiovese is a delicate and versatile variety: it will yield medium-bodied wines that are crisp, balanced, and enjoyable young, but impressively-structured wines of great depth as well, which will maintain their exceptional character over many years. San Felice’s three Chianti Classicos, made almost exclusively from sangiovese, exhibit the variety’s versatility, in particular the distinctiveness that each individual terroir confers.

“Attractive aromas of cherry and vanilla follow through to a medium body, with fine tannins and a clean finish.” Drink now. 4,500 cases imported. JS

Winemaking and ageing process:  fermentation in contact with the skins for 18-20 days at a temperature of 28-30° C. Malo-lactic fermentation in stainless steel vats. 80% of the batch is left to age in Slavonian oak barrels (60/90 HI) for 24 months, while the remaining 20% is left to age in French oak casks of 225 litres.

85 Wine Spectator

Notes on our Wines of the Week, Recommendations, and Picks:

When you read our thoughts, please remember that you may think differently.  A particular wine may be your favorite and not on our list.  Well, don't stop buying it because of that.  In fact, you may want to email us and let us know about it. These are our opinions but our FIRST recommendation is to go by your own palate.

A couple of other thoughts...first, prices are approximate.  They'll vary.  Second, different vintages mean different grapes and different tastes so our recommendation for a 2000 Merlot may not hold for 2001.

And lastly, we remind you to drink responsibly!  Now, all that said, here is a summary of  links to our suggestions.  Find one (or more) and pop the cork!

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