Gaetano D’Aquino Chianti 2010 Italy Normally, I’m a big fan of chianti because it’s mellow in a way that it makes mellow seem like an art form. This one’s not there. It smells sharply herbal with a tart berry undercurrent of currant or cranberry. It’s tart on drinking, too. There’s almost a fizz to it,
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Placido Chianti 2008 Tuscany, Italy This chianti tastes pungent, and not in a good way. Unripened blackberries, nectarines, apples, mild chocolate, and herbs—dried thyme, mostly—are the notes I taste. Those don’t make for a great combination. I’m not spitting it out, but it’s not really worth drinking, either.

Dellatorri Chianti 2007 I didn’t pick up much from the smell of this wine, so if I had to offer something, I’d say it smelled of unripened pluot.  The taste was more striking, with the first sip making me wonder if I’d bit into a lemon seed.  That taste lingers for awhile but mellows after
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Dellatorri Chianti Other words on the label: denomi nazaione de Origine controllate e geratita 2004 Red Wine Product of Italy The label of this wines tries to convince me that the winery has been around forever. It features a gold foil crest of a sea horse overlooking a picturesque Italian seaside cliff and words that
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