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Tasting Notes
A baby. This wine is plus-acidity and high tannin, but even at its youthful midweight, it carries both well. That said, don't confuse it with sipping wine, this is serious stuff. There is already alluring and complex black and red cherry fruit, tobacco, sage, leather, and rose, along with a salty minerality and licorice in the layered, lengthy finish.
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
14%
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.
A beautiful complex expression of both Sangiovese and terroir. A bang for your buck and then some.
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.
Monteraponi is an estate located on 200 hectares just outside of Radda that include a beautiful medieval hill town, olive groves, forest, and 12 hectares planted to vines in Chianti Classico.
The vines are 400-500 meters above sea level on calcareous soils. The estate’s focus is mainly sangiovese but also small amounts of colorino and canaiolo that are included in their Chianti blends. The wines undergo natural fermentation and are aged in large-oak barrels.
These traditionally made Chianti Classico wines speak to the terroir--they have appealing red fruit, spice, and refreshing acidity that makes these wines sing with a variety of foods.
Red Cherry
Leather
Tobacco
Biodynamic
