2020 Chianti Classico Ama Castello di Ama: a powerful and rocky Tuscan red wine
The 2020 Chianti Classico Ama Castello di Ama is a Sangiovese that focuses heavily on power, concentration, and ripe fruit. If you are looking for a nervous, subtle, and austere Chianti Classico, you should change the bottle immediately. This is a little bomb of muscle and power that has not yet found its way.
But it is understandable. After all, it has only been on the market for two years after being aged in cask and then in bottle, and it still lacks the depth that it will be able to develop over time. The stuff is there. It just has to grow.
How is it produced?
The grapes come from all five of the company’s main vineyards, with the vines rooted in the hills that rise around the village of Ama, in Gaiole, in the historic heart of Chianti. After the harvest, the bunches are de-stemmed and crushed; the must macerates for 15 days and ferments thanks to the natural yeasts on the grapes—12 months of aging in barrique and one year in the bottle.
Organoleptic characteristics
The nose is strong, mature, and expressive. It smells like cooked plums, tea, cherry jam, orange, tomato, cinnamon, endless vanilla, and fragrant herbs, all framed by the earthy and mushroomy smells that are typical of Sangiovese. The wood dominates and marks a lot but plays on grace. Finish of blue flowers drowned in a sea of licorice.
On the palate, it is full-bodied, muscular, and full, not thin, but mature and broad. The structure is solid, and the rhythmic step driven by good acidity and roundness that softens the edgy parts.
At the moment, it is still in the meditative phase. It is certainly not a ready wine: pleasant and roaring, but the hard parts are not well blended, and there are too many edges. We have to admit that the tannins are delineated with attention and elegance. The extract and the wood dominate the tasting, mortifying the varietal, but give it 5-6 years, and it will be able to find a way to express itself with more awareness and completeness, dropping the vanilla weight of the barrique.
Price
20 euros: an honest price for a wine that is still unripe but with a bright future.
Food Pairings
Beef tacos, Black truffle risotto, passatelli with Parmigiano fondue and truffle, bucatini all’amatriciana, roast beef, hamburger, smoked beef ribs.