I've seen this wine a million times in supermarkets, and never tried it. It seems like a supermarket stalwart - kind of just always there. Unspectacular looking, and normally just a pound or two too much to take a gamble on.It is on offer in Waitrose, but it took about 5 minutes of me waffling, staring at it and the other Italian wines around it, for me to make the decision to buy it. I'm not sure why - it just looks boring. However that is no way to judge a wine.
So I bought it, after all it was only £5.32 (from £7.99). It tasted young, and had a characteristic 'cheap' taste which I've learned to equate with young wines, not necessarily cheap ones. There were flashes of 'Oh - this is OK actually', only for them to disappear with the next sip. Should have gone for the Barbera - it was on offer as well. Maybe a year or three in the cellar for it to mellow out?
Melini
Borghu d'Elsa Chianti 2009
Chianti DOCG, Tuscany, Italy
Waitrose
£5.32 (£7.99)
2/5
Posts
Tim - are you going to try/review the two Nicolas Catena wines that are also "on special" at Waitrose (chardonnay and malbec)?
ReplyDeleteHi Giles,
ReplyDeleteI think I've tried the Chardonnay, and didn't like it (no blog post though). I remember I was expecting big things from it and was disappointed. Regarding the Malbec - I've been avoiding reds because it's summer and too hot for them (besides the occasional one) so no rush there either.
By the way, in one of your previous comments you mentioned Esk Valley wines..they happen the be on offer at Wine Direct at the moment: http://www.winedirect.co.uk/deal_of_the_week.php?did=78
I was tempted to try some, but the ridiculous delivery charges put me off.
I also had a Vidal Rose from NZ the other day - it was late and wasn't really a great time to blog, but the wine seemed good - very floral.
Tim
Tim
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip - I had't seen that sale; good news. Incidentally, that link and the list of Esk Valley wines on it shows what can happen when a boutique winery falls to a big major. The older wines have an attractive and classy label, while the newer ones have "Esk Valley" in a ghastly scrawl against a white background - the result of Villa Maria's marketing revamp to make the wines stand out better on the shelves, apaprently. VM did it with Vidal Wines as well a year or so ago.
I'm glad I'm not alone in finding the Catena chardonnay disappointing! I opened it last night and it seemed quite bland, but then it's the 2009 on sale and perhaps it needs a few more months to develop a bit.
Best wishes
Giles
Hi, good stuff here. I'm a newbie reader of yours, but will be back!
ReplyDelete