Chianti and Brunello

What an amazing pair of wines. Chianti everyone knows from endless caricatures of wine bottles wrapped in straw where the straw was worth more than the wine. In this incarnation, the poor SAN GIOVESE grape was subjected to horrendous handling and wine making practices. Rumor has it that the name means “Blood of Jove.” Well, he must have shed lots over the junk that was put in those bottles.

Fortunately, for Jove and all his pals on Mt. Olympus, the condition of Chianti has improved enormously. the growers in Tuscany are now making making quality wines from this wonderful grape, all the way from a simple Chianti to elegant Chianti Classico Riservas.

But hold on a second. Will the real San Giovese step forward? The reason for this is that there are any number of clones of SG thriving in Tuscany. There are so many that a twenty plus year project to identify and name and classify all the clones is still not finished.

So, hop on over to Montalcino for a minute. Anyone heard of Brunello di Montalcino? Brunello is the name of a clone of our old friend San Giovese. He happens to line around the town of Montalcino, hence the name........

It is almost hard to realize that these two wonderful wines are of the same grape. Chianti-medium bodied, fairly acidic, black plums, cherries, black raspberries, tobacco, leather, oak, dirt (this is good), depending on the quality level of the wine tasted.

Brunello-much more full bodied, expensive, redolent of dark cherries, black raspberries, wood, intense plum flavors If one were to taste the two wines side by side, one would notice no more than a passing resemblance between SG and B.

They live in different towns and areas and while they may be first or second cousins, they must be from distant parts of the family. Do a tasting:you buy a couple of Chiantis and have someone else buy a few bottles of Brunello. Do a blind tasting. See what you think.