A wine friend of mine, Jack, recommended this wine when we saw it pop up on one of those discount websites for almost half off normal price.  It’s the 2004 Brancaia Chianti Classico which I bought for only $20 (Jack, I saved you a bottle), but I have seen it upwards of $35 elsewhere.  This wine is made almost entirely from Sangiovese as you would expect, but this has just a little bit (5%) of Merlot blended in.  From the first sniff and taste, I could tell this wasn’t going to be one of those average, uneventful Sangioveses that I have had recently, like the 2005 Avignonesi Rosso.  But at the same time, it wasn’t as big as the 2003 Fattoria di Rodano Chianti Classico I had back in October.  This one was just right and still very much Chianti Classico as it should be: warming, smooth, probably  best with some red meat or pasta, but very much drinkable on its own.

Color: rich, ruby red

Nose: a little barnyardy and light must at first and some slight vegetation — just letting you know you were in the old world … then it mellowed with some time in the glass (10-15 minutes) where more oak began to show through (was aged for 18 months in oak) but was never overwhelming and quite balanced and smooth

Taste: I first got some red tart berries, reminding me of the tart dried cherries I used for a duck sauce once, with very mild tannins. 

Overall, a very enjoyable and relaxing wine for a Monday night on the first day of work after the holidays… I nice find, indeed.  This is obviously very drinkable now, but I have seen notes where the window could be upwards of 2014 which surprises me for this type of wine.

Ciao, Bella!