2003 Villa di Geggiano Chianti Classico

This is a bottle we had on the list with the 2000 vintage, as well as the 1998 Riserva. I have not tried this vintage yet, but it is on the winelist nonetheless as we had a couple of extra bottles left over from a party. I brought a bottle up to Nantucket in July to drink with Jamie over the 4th, but we never got to it. I was debating whether or not to open it tonight, but I do not feeling like buying any wine nor stealing a bottle from my father-in-law.

I went to Tutto Sfoglia and bought three cheeses: Piave (a favorite of mine and totally under rated), Toma di something (cow's milk similar in texture to havarti) and an aged Provolone (again gets no respect!).

The Sangioves is slightly musty, full raisin with a little prune - much more fruit forward at first than most Chiantis I have had with zero tannins, almost a marvel for an Italian. I wonder if it might have gotten cooked? It sat in the car for a 5 hour drive and a 3 hour boat ride, then in a 58 degree basement for three months. But so did four other bottles of red that we opened at the end of July that were unaffected.

The Piave is like a soft parmesan with a hint of black truffle - to the wine it brings out the lighter, high notes masking the over ripeness of when it was first opened. The Provolone is rich and tangy, almost chewy - not so great with the Geggiano as it turns the wine a little sour. The Toma is meatier and is the best match for the vino as it balances the rasin/prune with the high raspberry and thyme flavors.

But a good wine shouldn't need cheese to make it drinkable. The 2003 does not resemble the 2000, as that wine took about an hour to really open up and then it was still sparse, almost Spartan fruit with heavy tannins - and tes, it was an awesome wine. I need to open another '03 Geggiano Classico to make a proper judgement. On this bottle, I would give it a two of five glasses.