Wine-O Wednesday: Antinori Vineyards

Considering my seemingly endless supply of material for this weekly idea, I figured it would be fun to discuss various wines as consistently as I consume them.  Hiccup...

I don't know a whole heck of a lot about wine, but my parents introduced me to the stuff at a relatively young age and taught me how to discern some of the more basic flavors.  I hated it.  A whole wine cellar full of delicious bottles and I didn't really want anything to do with them.

Until sophomore year of college when I discovered white zinfandel.  At Sam's club.  By the magnum.  Makes my lip curl thinking about it now...  My favorite brand: Sutter Home (ie, more fondly and accurately, Stutter Home).  Foul.  Just foul.

That excuse for wine opened up a whole world for me, eventually, as I made the typical female route from pink wine to Riesling then on to Pinot Grigio/ Sauvignon Blanc and finally moved to my now favorite neck of the woods, the big reds.  Zinfandels and Pinot Noirs are pretty much my go-to these days, but I still can't say no to a citrus-crisp glass of Sauv-Blanc on a sunshine drenched patio.  Oh Spring, I miss you.

On to the Wine

My first wine-o entry should be dedicated to this past weekend, when P and I went to a local wine tasting at the amazing Tuscan resty, Antica Posta in Buckhead (an under-acknowledged gem and definitely one of the best in Atlanta)

The event was hosted by an Antinori sommelier, a 26 generation strong vineyard in Tuscany.  They served some fabulous apps like sea bass puree on a biscuit (believe me), house made veal sausage, classic bruschette and mouth watering seared scallops.  Divine.  If you go for dinner, their gnocchi is seriously the best I've had in the states.

The whites line-up:

Vermentino Bolgheri 2011 - light table wine, nothing too special

Bramito Chardonnay 2011 - very light and fruity, the opposite of 

what you typically expect from a Chardonnay!

Cervaro della Sala 2010 - 93 points - smooth buttery flavor without 
oak notes, which I found unusual.  Loved the richness of this guy.

The red line-up:

Il Bruciato Bolgheri Rosso 2010 - apparently not memorable, literally

Chianti Classico Riserva villa Antinori 2010 - literally just came to the US last week!  
Quite spicy with a nice, short finish leaving you wanting more.

Chianti Classico Riserva Badia a Passignano 2006 - 89 points - deep, smooth

 flavors and a really, really long finish

Tignanello 2009 - holy bajeezus this was fabulous.  94 points.  

$100 bottle or I'd be after this daily.  Flavor punch to the faceroo.

Our favorite ended up being the very reasonably priced Chianti Villa Antinori at $29/bottle!  Spicy with a short finish and the coolest part is it's only been in the US for a week and a half!!    We scooped up half a case, for us and for a few friends as gifts :)