End of term Chianti.
Occasions don’t matter a great deal here. We do not celebrate milestones. Birthdays pass without mention, as do Anniversaries, there is no Christmas, no Ramadan, no Chinese New Year. Just passing days and a feeling of urgency to make every day count, not just the day’s people consider special.
Opening a special bottle relies on mood, not an occasion. If every day is special, mood dictates wine, not the date. Drinking something more expensive requires no more criteria than feeling like, right at that moment, enjoying that wine which is desirable.
As our peers popped Champagne and went to expensive restaurants to celebrate the end of the Semester and the coming three-week break, both of us decided something simple and rustic was in order. Home-cooked lasagne and a rustic, inexpensive Chianti was how we would celebrate the end of the term. If you could even consider it a celebration.
We have three or four Chianti Classico’s we drink regularly. Lamole di Lamole is one of them. Consistently delivering to expectation, always over-delivering on value for money, and foolproof for easy drinking, wonderful company, and easy conversation.
Lamole’s entry-level Chianti has minimal intervention in the winery. It receives no new oak, comes from vines that vary in age from 4 to 40 years, and just delivers a pure, no fuss wine that is about as Chianti as Chianti can get. Are there better Chianti’s available, most certainly, but this Lamole delivers an easy drinking experience that the region is famous for.
90% Sangiovese
10% Canaiolo Nero
Decanted for fifteen minutes.
Medium ruby in the glass. Raspberries dominate a very pretty nose. There is a floral perfume fragrance supported by soft green herbs and aniseed. There is sweet vanilla underlying the nose that is from the fruit, as I don’t think the wine sees any new oak. Pretty and approachable but hardly mesmerising. The palate offers medium acid and medium body. Bright red fruits dominate with the flowers fading to green herbs. The tannins are fine and provide just enough grip for a medium finish. This wine is not going to blow your mind, but on a lazy Friday evening with homemade lasagne and a green salad, perfect.
Drink now – 2023
88 pts with a nod to value for money.
