I think this wine has been much discussed in the WS boards, but I thought I'd start a new thread here. I took a 375ml of this to Mark's Duck House in Falls Church, VA tonight to have with Peking Duck. My friend and I ordered the duck (which was delicious) and Beef Chow Fun, and the waiter poured this wine in small wine goblets. Inviting nose of dark berries, with faint spice and vanilla. On the palate the wine had a good solid fruit core with a good finish, with a low level of acidity. It was a little weaker on the mid-palate, but on the whole a well-made wine, and a great match with the duck. 90-91pts.

Jamietown, have you had the 99 previously? If so, how does it compare before to now? I bought two bottles in september and have been holding off on opening either. I have read on the WS board where it may not be ready to drink until late 2003. Care to shed some light?

Hi Copilot,

I've previously tasted the Fontodi at a wine shop in DC, but it was poured in a tiny plastic cup, so I didn't enjoy it as much. However I think this bottle was drinking wonderfully - for my tastes, it was drinking well now, and I don't think that you need wait for this.

But I do remember hearing differing opinions on the WS board, so there may be some bottle variation. Only one way to find out...

TJ Points = 88 -- $ I forget ($20-25-ish?)

I had this this evening paired with a Mario Batali recipe with a few substitutions -- basically tilapia with mushrooms reduced in wine with totamto sauce and butter thrown in -- usually made with monkfish (which is better) but this was really quite good.

Immediate nose of blueberries and meat. Layered spices and oak nuances later. Plenty of acidity and nice berried flavors. Decent tannins and nice long finish. I got the distinct feeling I was drinking bacon at one point. This is a pretty tasty wine and it expands my education in chianti classicos.

Jaimetown,
Cheers for the TN's.

We liked this wine. I give it an 86 for a rating. I posted a TN on the WS board with an 88 rating but have since revised some of my ratings because I was going way too easy. It might be a good match with food, especially the duck as Jaimetown mentioned.

It is balanced and quite pleasant. Chiantis are not my favorite so my score might reflect the fact that I find most of them incredibly thin. It runs about $24 in our market so the price seems a bit high.

I've had bad luck with these bottles recently - I opened 2 last week that were horribly cooked. Have 2 more bottles left.

I have a case, several bottles of which have gone to their reward and were very nice. I'm also still drinking the 97, which keeps getting better and better. Likewise in both cases for the Felsina 97-99.

It seems fitting for my 4000th post that I do it as a (follow-on) to a TN.

I popped this tonight and paired it with pizza (I know, I know pizza twice this week -- what can I say, I'm busy!) and it paired well.

I have lost the blueberries this time around, but picked up more meat, this time slightly seared/charred, along with charred wood, a wild sort of iodidic sense and darker berries. It brought on a deep sense of marrow , charred bones and meat along with plenty of meat and berries in the mouth. Kind of peppery and spiced this time around, too. Legnthy finish was good too.

I'd rate this at 89+ now, notquiiiite over the top to a 90, but an improvement over last time and last time wasn't bad at all!

Thanks for the notes TJ - I had a streak of 5, count 'em 5, cooked bottles! We had this wine at our rehearsal dinner (which were fine for the most part), but the bottles left over I brought home were all cooked to various degrees (no pun intended).

Glad you enjoyed it once again tj. Chianti is definitely yummy. Let me know what you think about the 2000 if you have a chance to pick up a bottle.

Did you consider returning the Fontodi, since it was probably a distribution rather than winery problem?

Jaimetown,
bad luck dude!I agree with Tigers thoughts.

Sorry to hear about your corked problem there, JT. That stinks. I have had pretty good luck recently with corked/off bottles. When it happens with some regularity, especially if I know where I bought it, I have had good success in getting credits back. This is usually good for the shop, since I always end up buying more than the credit!

futronic, I'll be looking for the 2000, definitely. CC is definitely something I am growing to enjoy more and more.

99 fontodi CC last night. Nice nose, leathery accents, fine flavors, good acidity, good finish.

Had the 2000 whilst in Florence/Firenze and was very pleased with it. So pleased I brought a bottle of it home and a bottle of the Riserva. I thought that it was one of the most nicely structured, well-balanced Chiantis that I've ever had. It knocked the Banfi of the same year into a cocked hat and that was no slouch, well worth going back for more.

I had this again the other night and was disappointed. I think it is shutting down or shut down at this point. Is that possible? It was still OK, but just not like it was 6-8 months ago, almost like two different wines.

Chianti typically doesn't shut down (or at least not in my experience), especially in normale bottlings.

Perhaps yours was off?

That is what I was thinking, fut (shutting down not really being a possibility). Maybe it was just off, who knows. It just was not the same as it'd been the two times I'd had it before.

Well, if you've got another bottle, you can always answer that question.