Pasta masters

matching pasta and Chianti

Which style of Chianti is best with food, those with international grapes, or those that are 100% Italian? Chris Losh joins a team of tasters to put Italy’s best-known to the test

Chianti. It’s on a zillion wine lists worldwide, and one of the few wine regions that your average customer will have heard of: a de facto brand like Chardonnay, Sancerre and Rioja. Yet the last 20 years have seen Chianti split into two very different stylistic schools: the traditional, using entirely indigenous grapes, and what I guess you could call the ‘modern’, incorporating grapes from outside the region.

Go back to the early 1990s and the wines made from exogenous grapes were often bigger and more in your face. A style guaranteed to find favour with critics and, often, to do well in blind tastings. The ‘traditional’ wines, by contrast, were frequently unripe and flawed – pale imitations of the region’s potential.

“The last 20 years have seen

Chianti split into two very

different stylistic schools:

traditional and modern”

But things have changed over the last 10 years. The appellation has recognised that international grapes can be a part of the Denominazione, and the 100% Italian wines have benefited from research carried out into clones. Neither group of wines, in short, is as it was.

So where does that leave the region? What can you expect if you put a Chianti on your list? And more to the point, how will the wines that you choose work with food? Is one style (traditional or international) better with Italian food than the other?

This was our starting point. We were not attempting an exhaustive tasting of Chiantis. Such a task would have taken dozens of sommeliers weeks. Rather, we were attempting to gain a representative snapshot of what sort of wines were available from the region now, and to ascertain how well they went with food.

So, we contacted several merchants who are well known for their range of Italian wines, and asked them to send in a couple of Chiantis that were from 100% indigenous grapes, and a couple that contained a percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot etc. Our only stipulation was that they had to be under £20 ex-VAT. The wines were then divided into two flights: ‘indigenous’ (Italian only grapes) and ‘exogenous’ (including grapes from outside the region).

Our sommeliers tasted the wines blind (aware only of price), and scored each out of 20. The three top wines from each flight were tried with two Italian dishes: a pasta (carbonara), and a meat dish (osso bucco).

THE TASTING

There were, as you might expect, rather more ‘indigenous’ wines than wines made from international grapes. But perhaps the two most interesting features of the tasting were: a) that many of the international wines were under £10, belying the ‘show pony’ tag that tends to stick to Chiantis with Cabernet et al; and b) that the overall standard of both flights was extraordinarily high.

In a tasting of over 20 wines, one was corked (and without a replacement bottle), and two were a bit disappointing. But the rest were impressively good.

This was borne out by extremely high scores across the board. Average score for the wines including non-native grapes was an impressive 70 out of 100; for the 100% indigenous wines, 71. But the fact that they were so close proved that this debate is as much about style as it is about quality.

The scores were significantly higher than you’d have expected from a comparable tasting 10 years ago; the Tuscans have clearly made great strides over the last decade.

The 100% Italian wines were generally ripe, balanced and well-made, with all the benefits of their regionality and none of the disadvantages, while the international wines, too, were more sensitively handled than in the past.

Generally, the tasters were most impressed with the indigenous flight, though this could be because the average prices were somewhat higher. And certainly there was a good deal of surprise not just at
the standard, but also the style of the international wines.

‘It really struck me that the winemaking has moved on,’ said Hakkasan’s Christine Parkinson. ‘They have learned how to handle Cabernet and Merlot. The wines weren’t over-extracted at all.’

The ‘stand alone’ element of the tasting was, though, only the starter. Far more important was finding out how the wines would work with food...

The scores were calculated, the top three wines taken from each flight, and Franco’s chef got to work so we could find out how the different styles of wine went with archetypal Italian dishes...

RESULTS

EXOGENOUS

(INCLUDING INTERNATIONAL GRAPES)

81 Chianti Clasico, Riserva A Petri 2005, Vicchiomaggio

Fresh summerfruit nose. ‘Light and floral!’ EOH. ‘Minty, rosemary and eucalyptus,’ RdP. ‘Supple, juicy and grippy,’ CP.

£15.22, Hallgarten-Druitt, 01582 722538

79 Chianti Classico, Castello di Ama 2006

Bold and powerful nose of ‘dark fruits, earth and truffles,’ EOH. ‘Aromatic with powerful fruit and a sour liquorice kick,’ CL.

£19.25, Fields Morris & Verdin, 020 7819 0360

69 Chianti Classico DOCG 2006, Rocca di Castagnoli

Soft, sweet and fruity, a little VA. Simple wine, food-friendly and versatile. ‘Meaty black fruits, a little bitter on the finish,’ RdP.

£9.09, Eurowines, 020 7630 2707

68 Chianti Tenuta di Castiglione DOCG 2007, Marchese de Frescobaldi

Leafy and floral with darker blackcurrant aromas. ‘Punchy and the acidity holds its own. I’d have liked more on the palate,’ CL.

£9.54, Hallgarten-Druitt, 0182 722538

67 Cantine Leonardo Chianti 2008

Sweet, ripe, red fruit flavours with firm tannins, this was round and attractive rather than complex. ‘Amazing for the money. Well done!’ CP.

£6.13, Liberty, 020 7720 5350

60 Poggiotondo Cerro del Masso Chianti 2007

Lots of fruit to start with: ‘juicy raspberries and blueberries,’ EOH. Though the short, slightly grubby finish let it down.

£6.53, Liberty, 020 7720 5350

Faulty: Chianti Classico, Villa di Geggiano 2007; Fields Morris & Verdin

INDIGENOUS

83 Fontodi Chianti Classico 2006

Stand-out wine, loved by all. Pretty, floral and bright, with cherries and violets, also herby top notes and darker, leathery notes behind. ‘Fruity, open and generous, balanced, spicy finish, EL.

£11.40, Liberty, 020 7720 5350

80 Agricola San Felice, Poggio Rosso Chianti Classico Riserva 2004

The more savoury end of the spectrum. ‘Dark, minerally, tobacco and liquorice,’ CL. ‘Multi-dimensional, a good food wine,’ EOH. ‘Appealing palate, clean, dry finish,’ RdP.

£16.54, Boutinot, 0161 908 1300

76 Cecchi Chianti Classico 2007

Inky, brooding kind of a nose with ‘liquorice, bitter almonds and cherry,’ CP. Chocolate and violet finish. ‘Humid forest floor, with a big finish,’ RdP.

£8.51, Enotria, 020 8961 4411

73 Chianti Classico DOCG 2006, Tenuta Di Caprai

Sweet cherry pie-fruit nose, with chocolate on the palate, some found a slight green edge. ‘Ripe and intense, a long finish,’ RdP.

£9.48, Eurowines, 020 7630 2707

72 Villa la Pagliaia Chianti Classico 2006

Fruit subordinated ‘almonds and porcini,’ EOH. ‘Crunchy, earthy with crisp acidity,’ CP. ‘Tannins are verging on the green,’ CL.

£7.19, Boutinot, 0161 908 1300

68 Da Vinci Chianti Classico 2006

‘Cherry and flowers with some sour liquorice,’ CL. ‘Warm autumnal notes on the nose,’ EOH. Spicy, meaty finish.

£9.10, Liberty, 020 7720 5350

67 Chianti Classico, Fonterutoli 2007

This wine divided the panel: some loved its sundried tomato character, while others found it closed. ‘Smoky, herbaceous, good balance,’ EL.

£11.78, Enotria, 020 8961 4411

62 Chianti Classico Riserva 2005, Carpineto

Bright red cherry flavours, but also some stinkier, bretty notes, which let it down a bit. ‘Warm, chewy and classy, but bitter,’ CP.

£14.66, Hallgarten-Druitt, 01582 722538

60 Chianti DOCG Gentilesco 2008, Bonacchi

Juicy black fruit, cheap and reasonably cheerful. ‘Roasted herbs, silky tannins,’ RdP.

£6.12, Hallgarten-Druitt, 01582 722538

Faulty: Riseccoli, Wine Aux

What the tasters thought...

Roberto della Pietra, Roussillon

‘I slightly preferred the indigenous flight – for me, they had a little more character. But I was surprised by the international flight – they weren’t too big and jammy, but well made wines with herbs, spice and clean fruit. The best wines for me had nice cherry fruit, purity of flavour, with controlled alcohol and tannin.’

Chris Losh, editor, Imbibe

‘I was surprised by the overall quality of these wines. I was expecting more bad wines in both flights, but apart from a couple of faulty bottles, the standard was very good. I thought there was a big difference in the mouthfeel of the two flights. The indigenous wines were more restrained, but had good persistence and acidity; while the international wines were a bit more up-front, with a bigger drop-off on the palate.’

Erica Laler, Texture

‘I most enjoyed the indigenous flight. They were more consistent and seemed to have more complexity – though this might be because they were generally also more expensive. They always say the wines from a region go best with the food there, and I suspect the 100% indigenous wines will be better with food than the international wines.’

Christine Parkinson, Hakkasan

‘I was surprised by the international flight. The wines weren’t over-extracted at all – the producers have made Italian wines out of international grapes. That said, I didn’t enjoy those wines as much – I thought there was far more fruit and flavour in the indigenous wines, and I would therefore expect them to work better with food.’

Emily O’Hare, the River Cafe

‘I thought I would prefer the indigenous wines, but I was pleasantly surprised by the international flight. There is no competition between the two; there is a place for both on a list. I don’t think Sangiovese can be bettered when it comes to food – it’s in a league of its own – and you always get a sense of place with it, too. But the international wines tasted food-friendly as well.’

WITH THE FOOD

CARBONARA

First of all our tasters tried the exogenous wines (those with non-native grapes) with a classical carbonara. The River Café’s Emily O’Hare was not optimistic.

‘You won’t find a match in the international varietals,’ she said. ‘I’d use indigenous varietals with pasta.’

She was right... up to a point. The results were not great, but nor were they disastrous. Although, as Roberto della Pietra pointed out, ‘the sweet fruit jars with the food,’ the wines were well-enough made to be able to do a turn.

Castello di Ama was the star performer. While not a perfect match, it had, as Erica Laler pointed out, ‘the most acidity to help cut through the sauce.’

It was no surprise – given that acidity seemed to be the key to the match – that the indigenous wines, with high-acid Sangiovese to the fore, did rather better than the others. Again, the flavours of the wine were not particularly sympathetic to the food, but, although there were no perfect matches, the indigenous wines were still reasonably successful.

‘They’re doing a bit too much,’ said Christine Parkinson. ‘If they’re working, it’s because of the acidity.’

‘Even the international varieties weren’t horrible,’ mused della Pietra. ‘If you wanted a perfect match you’d probably need a Vermentino, but it’s far easier to sell a Chianti...’ he added.

It’s also handy to have a wine that will broadly work with two dishes, versatile enough that you can sell one bottle to a table of two that will work across both their pasta and main course.

So how would the wines stack up with our meat course, the osso buco?

OSSO BUCCO

Though it looks mightily imposing, the flavours of veal shank are actually quite delicate, so it was no surprise to find that the (generally slightly bigger) international wines were too much for this dish. The flavours didn’t work (which the panel had anticipated) and the structure – relying, as it did, on tannin rather than acidity, was simply too much for the meat.

‘They lack the delicacy and florality to work with this dish,’ said Laler. ‘Maybe they would work better with more international food, like steak.’

The top wine, unsurprisingly, was the Rocca di Castagnoli, which was the lightest wine of the three.

It was a similar story for the indigenous wines, with the reasonably priced, reasonably light, bright and floral Fontodi taking top spot. It was interesting, though, that the succulence of the dish made the wines taste leaner. Scrawny, bad-old-days Chiantis would quickly have been found out.

FINAL IMPRESSIONS

‘In competitions, 100% Sangiovese wines never get anywhere – they don’t stand well alone and judges tend not to think how a wine will match with food.’

Roberto della Pietra

‘It’s hard to fault this standard of Chianti, though it does make you question whether international grapes are needed in the wine any more. That’s not to say the international ones are bad wines, but I don’t think Chianti needs other grapes to bolster its name any more.’

Christine Parkinson

‘I was very impressed with the wines. I don’t have a problem with the Chianti producers using other grapes as well. Sometimes adding other elements can bring more complexity to a wine.’

Erica Laler

‘This makes me appreciate even more how good Italian varietals can be. Sangiovese is such a wonderful grape – it’s almost untouchable.’

Emily O’Hare

CONCLUSION

Overall the quality of wines from Chianti has improved out of sight. The indigenous wines are riper and rounder, and the international wines less jammy.

Structurally, the indigenous wines tend to have more acidity, which makes them better with richer or fattier food. Thinner examples will look weedy with sweeter or richer dishes.

If you are looking for wine to do a job through both pasta and a meaty main course, the indigenous Chianti grapes are generally rather better. Though the exogenous wines would probably offer a better match with beef.

There is a definite place for both styles on the wine list. But be sure to know how each fits with your dishes and be prepared to explain those differences to the customer.

Many thanks to Franco’s restaurant, who supplied us with good coffee and excellent food to order, and put up with us getting in the way when they had better things to do. Franco’s, 61 Jermyn St, London, SW1Y 6LX.

Editorial feature from Imbibe Magazine - November / December 2009