Being in a wine shop is pleasant and a great way to forget the insanity that is outside.  The world seems to be a much nicer place when one is having an assortment of wines and some enjoyable conversation.  Eventually there may even be formal tastings by wineries again, I mean we can always hope.  The hardest part in the winter is getting all bundled up to go out, and during these periods of induced paranoia, the idea is to get as many errands done on a single day as possible.  I try to always have a trip to the Fine Wine Source as my final stop for the day, so that I am not feeling rushed.

Fattoria La Gerla Rosso di Montalcino 2017 proved to be a charming and delightful wine and evoke plenty of different dishes to pair with it.  Fattoria La Gerla is a winery based in Montalcino, which is in the central portion of the wine region of Tuscany.  Sergio Rossi bought the estate from Biondi Santi in 1976 and it has been in the Rossi family ever since. There are six vineyards planted between 1976 and 1998 exclusively Sangiovese.  Rosso di Montalcino is in the same defined area as its older and bigger brother Brunello di Montalcino DOCG.  Rosso di Montalcino DOC was created in 1984 to take advantage of younger vineyards, and a way to make a fresher and younger style of wine that would not be so invested in time; and also, to bring some money into the coffers of the wineries quicker.  The fruit is hand harvested and after fermentation it is aged for ten months in a mix of Slavonian and French Oak barrels and barriques and then another two months in the bottle before it leaves the winery.  Subtle notes of violets and dark fruit are the first things that were appreciated, along with some softer tannins and velvety chewy wine with a nice medium length finish of spice and terroir.  The wine is not as big and bold as a Brunello, but then neither is its price tag, but it has all the same love and care. 

Villa Trasqua Nerento Chianti Classico DOCG Gran Selezzzione 2012 is from fabled historic vineyards which makes there first appearance in the year 1001.  In the year 1000, the land has been recorded ass Trasqua, and currently the one-hundred-twenty-hectare plot was purchased by the Hulsbergen family in 2001.  Nerento was identified back in 1854 as a singular and noted vineyard and because of its terrain it is known as “Black Rocks” and is the flagship for Villa Trasqua.  Chianti Classico is the oldest, most traditional and longest established wine region and known for their Sangiovese wines and the wine that make most people think of Tuscany.  There is a long fabled and romanticized story of how the region was originally created and since the 1920’s the famed Gallo Nero or Black Cockerel adorned the neck of every bottle of wine with three different bands to designate the pedigree, and still does except in the United States after a legal battle in 1991 started by E&J Gallo Winery and they won.  This wine is pure Sangiovese and the juice spends about twenty-five days on skin contact during the maceration period.  The wine is then aged for thirty months in French Oak and finishes with a twelve-month aging period in the bottle, before being released. Black fruit and eucalyptus are what I noticed immediately from the nose.  The black fruit also was there in the taste along with black pepper and spices, and a nice medium finish off terroir to finish.  A lovely example of a classic Chianti and not the Chianti that I grew up with as a child.