S. Orsola - Chianti

Price: $9.99
Region: Italy
Year: 2007

This week I was determined to stay in the Italian aisle until I left with a wine I hadn't tried before. I'm just not as familiar with the grapes on some of the different kinds of Italian wine, so it just takes me a little longer to pick one out. Well, after about 15 minutes, I narrowed it down to a couple of choices, and finally picked the S. Orsola Chianti. I can't say there was really any deciding factor, but sometimes that's just how it goes. Anyway, since I was determined to get an Italian wine, I also decided to pick up our favorite pizza for dinner. A large pie with grilled chicken, artichoke, and spinach. Sounded like a good Friday evening to me.

So, I sat down with a couple of pieces of pizza, and a generous glass of red wine. One thing I found interesting when looking at a couple of different bottles of Chianti, is that some stated "full-bodies", while one or two stated "light-bodies", but the far majority were listed as "medium-bodied". The bottle I choose was of the medium variety. So, it wasn't unexpected that the color was a bit on the light side. It didn't look weak or anything, but definitely not big and bold. Along the same lines, the smell had a bit of a floral hint to it, but it wasn't very strong. It was definitely time though to give it a try. I took my first sip, and all of the taste seemed to go right tot he back of my tongue, with a bit of a bite. In addition, the taste seemed to fade pretty quickly. It wasn't an awful taste, but I was definitely hoping for much more. All in all, I would say it was a middle of the road kind of wine. When Sunday rolled around, and it was time to have my in-laws over for dinner, my wife told me she was cooking an Italian dish for dinner. Since I had long finished the bottle of Chianti I bought on Friday, I took another trip to the store, and grabbed the only Italian wine on my default list Monte Antico-> http://winereviewsyoucanunderstand.blogspot.com/2008/12/monet-antico-sangiovese.html -> and it was good....

Rating: 2.5 Corks (Going to have to pass)