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Tasting Notes
Medium plus bodied, with pronounced tannin and acidity, structure wise, this is a big boy. Its complexity is off the charts with red cherry, mint, tobacco, asphalt, mineral, and spice. Patience with this wine will be justly rewarded.
Body is the impression of a wines weight, density, or its ‘mouth-feel’. Some wines feel weighty, or full bodied, while others feel light bodied. Wine runs the gamut from light to full, with most falling somewhere in between.
TANNIN
Low
Subtle
Balanced
Pronounced
High
Tannin can range greatly in wine, but it is necessary to some degree, and a necessary constituent for red wines to age well. In high amounts, it can cause a drying affect, which is sensed mostly on the gums and tongue. Tannin is a natural preservative extracted from grape skins, otherwise known as polyphenols that are micronutrients and antioxidants with potential health benefits.
ACIDITY
Soft
Subtle
Balanced
Pronounced
High
Acidity is a foundational component in wine. In fact, low acidity, or ‘flabby’ wine (as the term suggests) is a negative. You can sense acidity mainly on the sides of your tongue. Acidity generally ranges from balanced to high. Crisp acidity adds freshness, making your mouth water. Acidity is a necessary element and helps to balance other components.
SWEETNESS
Dry
Off Dry
Medium Dry
Medium Sweet
Very Sweet
Most wines are characterized as dry to off-dry, but there are some grape varietals, like Riesling, that run the gamut from dry to sweet. The tip of the tongue mainly detects sweetness, which is why it is often the primary characteristic detected. Sweetness is derived from residual sugar that did not ferment into alcohol.
ALCOHOL
13.5%
Alcohol is the by-product of fermentation. Differing grape varieties have differing potential alcohol levels, but regardless warmer areas result in riper grapes resulting in higher alcohol. Alcohol level is an objective number, but its affect on its palate impression is largely determined with how well integrated and balanced it is with other components.
Tone and backbone on steroids. Put it in the cellar, forget about it, and you'll be happy in a few years from now.
GRAPE VARIETAL(S)
Sangiovese
100%San-Joe-VAY-say
Sangiovese is grown throughout Central Italy, but is most famous for Brunello Di Montalcino and Chianti Classico in Tuscany. While historically the quality of Sangiovese wines was variable, the best wines are influenced by terroir and low yields. At its best, it makes some of some of Italy’s best wines. It performs particularly well on limestone soils at higher altitudes yielding elegant age-worthy Tone & Backbone wines with a complex combination of red fruit, earth, and minerals.
Fèlsina is regarded as one of the benchmarks of quality in Chianti Classico. Along with a handful of other wineries, Fèlsina successfully advocated for Chianti Classico to allow 100% sangiovese, believing it to be the best expression of the terroir. They were right.
All of their reds are 100% sangiovese, including the heralded Fontalloro. The vines that average between 30 and 50-years-old yield a powerful yet nuanced expression of sangiovese. The oldest vines, all organically farmed, also yield the most intense, age-worthy Chianti, like the Riserva Rancia and the Colonia Gran Selezione.
Even though Fèlsina is a large estate, the best vineyards are not far apart and yet show incredibly different terroir—the constant being that all their wines successfully balance intensity with elegance.
Red Cherry
Leather
Asphalt
