Last September (yeah…it’s been a while since I’ve posted something on here), my wife and I spent 10 days in Italy, exploring Rome, Florence, Venice, and the surrounding areas. This wasn’t my first time being in Italy, though I was a teenager on a school sponsored trip the last time I went, but it was my wife’s first time, which meant there was no way we were leaving without her getting to experience Tuscany and Veneto and taste some wine.
I’ll preface walking through our trips to different vineyards by saying it was very warm while we were there, and so other than dinner, we spent most of our time enjoying Aperol Spritzes to keep cool and refreshed.
Ok, back to the wine part of this trip.
Poggio Amorelli
While staying in Florence, we booked a day trip that included visits to Siena, San Gimignano, and lunch at a vineyard in the area. Poggio Amorelli was truly beautiful, especially on a warm, sunny September afternoon, and we tasted some truly spectacular wines (my wife and I ended up having some shipped home since we were traveling carry-on only).
After a quick tour of the grounds, we settled in to taste some wines and have some lunch.
Lunch started with a plate of meats and cheeses, along with some of their lighter wines.
Vermentino Spumante Extra Dry
We started off our tasting with a little sparkling wine. The Vermentino Spumante was a light yellow, almost straw color, in the glass, and I got aromas of green apple on the nose. The wine was light and refreshing, with small bubbles and flavors of white flowers, peach, and some green apple. The wine paired excellently with the apperitivo of cured meats, cheeses, and grilled eggplant. My wife and I shipped a bottle of this home as part of the 6 pack of wines we purchased.
2020 Chianti Classico
Next we jumped into the reds. First up was the 2020 Chianti Classico. 100% Sangiovese, the wine was a deep purplish-red color in the glass; closer to ruby than anything. On the nose I got aromas of dark berries, with hints of strawberry, oak, and dried herbs. In the mouth, the wine showed flavors of leather, tobacco, vanilla, and spice. Light to medium-bodied, the 2020 Chianti Classico was surprisingly fresh, even on a warm day. We had several bottles of this shipped home.
2021 Chianti Classico Riserva
Our next to last wine, the 2021 Chianti Classico Riserva. Still 100% Sangiovese, this wine was more ruby in color than the 2020. On the nose I got aromas of dried herbs, red fruit, and a melange of ripe burst tomatoes/bruschetta/tomato sauce. In the mouth the wine was dry, with good body and tannic structure with flavors of dried fruit, soft oak, leather, and black pepper. This paired really well with the pasta that was one of the options for lunch (I believe it was a mushroom sauce over tagliatelle…I definitely forgot to write it down).
2021 Oracolo Super Tuscan
Our last wine of the afternoon. A blend of 75% Sangiovese, 20% Merlot, and 5% Colorino (my notes have it at 70/25/5, but I’ll defer to their website), the wine was an intensely bright ruby red in the glass. On the nose I got aromas of leather and tobacco, while on the palate the wine was round, with flavors of plum, red fruit, and blueberry. This was a pretty intense wine, and I think it would serve really well as an after dinner wine; something to enjoy when you want another glass, you don’t want something sweet, but you’re also not trying to pair it with food (not that you couldn’t).
Wrapping up in Tuscany
We had an amazing time at Poggio Amorelli, and if you’re in the area on a trip I definitely recommend stopping in to try their wines. After our time in Florence, it was on to Venice, and a day trip to Veneto (we’ll do that one in part 2).
