After a recent positive restaurant experience with Chiantis, I've decided to do some exploring in the area. In the past, I've kept my distance, largely because of negative restaurant experiences. The conclusion I keep being brought to, throughout my wine tastings, is that I'm learning to despise cheap wines and learning to love expensive wines. This is going to end in tears.

Anyway, this was a reasonably nice wine, though I perhaps had unrealistic expectations for it. The color was an interesting dark red, tending toward brickish but perhaps closer to garnet. The aroma was hard to place--a good helping of spice accented by what was either vanilla or tobacco. More of either would have made the scent more appealing. Tastewise, the wine presented little fruit flavor, instead favoring its acidic and tannic qualities. This was somewhat to be expected with a Chianti (especially a riserva), but it was a little off-putting. I drank this alongside cheese ravioli with tomato sauce, and it turned out to be pretty complementary, which salvaged it. I did drink it at room temperature, so maybe tonight I'll turn it down a couple of degrees.

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