Recently I arranged to get family and friends together to taste four Chianti Classico wines and try them with different flavours of pizza. At the end of tasting through the wines and enjoying the pizzas, I had the group of us, pick their favourite wine of the evening. Following are my tasting notes for the wines, sans decanting, followed by the favourite wine(s) of the evening.

My Wine Tasting Notes

Rocca delle Macie Chianti Classico DOCG 2019 – A medium-minus intensity, clear to the core, garnet colour.  Light aromas of raspberry, earthy, and oak.  Dry, medium body with a round smooth mouthfeel.  Light acidity and tannins.  Red fruit, red cherries and light toast and oakiness on the palate.  A medium length with a light finish.  Light red cherry and a touch of toast.  Almost no tannins on the finish.

Rocca delle Macie Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2017 – Medium garnet with some bricking throughout.  Clear to the core.  Light-intensity aromas of leather, plums, blackberries, black and red fruit, and a touch of oak.  This wine is dry with medium-plus body, soft and smooth mouthfeel.  Lower acidity and medium tannins with air. Plums, red fruit, and oak, along with touches of floral and vanilla.  I also picked up some raspberries and candied cherries with air. Medium-plus length finishing with red fruit and floral flavours, plus some pepperiness.  The tannins firm up on the finish.

Carpineto Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2017 –  A medium-plus intensity clear garnet colour.  About 60% opaque. Medium-minus intensity harmonious aromas of red fruit, red cherry, vanilla, Old World oak / cedar, and light smokiness.  Some floral with air.  This wine is dry, with lighter body and a lean mouthfeel.  The wine gets smoother and rounder with time in the glass.  Raspberries and other red fruits, toasty oak, and floral on the palate along with a touch of Old World oak.  Medium intensity acidity and tannins.  A medium-plus length finishing lean, with flavours of red cherries and red fruits, light oak and tannins.  Peppery at the very end.  The tannins get a bit stronger with time in the glass. 

Ricasoli Brolio Riserva DOCG 2019 – Clear, medium-plus intensity garnet colour.  About 75% opaque.  Medium to pronounced aromas of cedar, red fruit, sweet spices; cinnamon in particular. Very expressive aromas.  This wine is dry, fuller-bodied and pronounced flavours.  Smooth and round mouthfeel.  Lots of berry fruit, red fruit, black cherry and plum flavours, along with sweet spices and touches of floral and cedar. Medium-plus length finishing with red fruit, red cherries, sweet spices, and black pepper.  Drying tannins. –

The selection of favourite wine was split evenly between the Rocca delle Macie Chianti Classico DOCG 2019 wine, which people enjoyed because it was lighter-bodied, and the Ricasoli Brolio Riserva 2019 which was much richer and fuller-bodied.  As for the pizzas, there were two meat and two vegetarian pizzas and all of them went well with the wines.

The Rocca delle Macie Chianti Classico DOCG 2019 I saw listed at BC Liquor stores, although it may now be the 2020 vintage. I also saw this wine listed at Everything Wine stores.

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