What’s for dinner?
The eternal question. On the busiest days it grates on my nerves, but it’s also filled with promise. I take stock of what’s in the pantry and fridge and typically pull out dried pasta, cherry tomatoes and a block of feta. My go-to pasta dish combines oven-baked feta, garlic, tomatoes, and Italian parsley to make a creamy sauce that you toss into al dente Farfalle. You know the one: it went viral during the global pandemic of 2020, and it’s still just as good. All that’s left is a trip to Costco or my favorite HEB to pick up missing ingredients. I’ll stroll through the wine section to pick a bottle we can enjoy that day. Usually that’s Chianti Classico.
My pick for this dish: Clemente VII
Castelli del Grevepesa Chianti Classico D.O.C.G. Riserva Clemente VII 2020 was a fun Costco find to bring home, in part because of the de Medici reference. Clemente VII was known as Giulio di Giuliano de Medici before he became Pope. He lived in Campoli, within the old, historic part of Chianti Classico where this wine was produced. This Florentine family quite literally bankrolled the Italian Renaissance, the Papacy, and the French monarchy in the 15th century. I expected nothing but greatness.
How this looks in the glass: this wine has a clear, dark ruby color that looks garnet on the outer rim of the bowl.
On the nose: it has pronounced aromas of ripe red fruits, like cranberry, red plum, red cherry and spice from black pepper.
On the palate: it has pronounced flavors that match the aromas on the nose from ripe red fruit, like cranberry, red cherry, red plum, and spice from black pepper. It’s dry with high acidity, medium tannins, medium body and medium alcohol with complex secondary flavors of cloves from oak, tertiary flavors from dried fruits such as prunes and dried cranberries, and a long finish.
Conclusion on drinking potential: This is a very good wine with intense and complex aromas and flavors prolonged in a long finish. The acidity was high, so it could benefit from bottle aging to bring out more tertiary aromas and flavors.