The perfect Xmas gift

WINE OF THE WEEK

Wine is a very nice present, and you can almost be sure that it won't end up stacked away in the basement. However for this particular bottle, a few years in the basement is not such a bad idea.

We get a lot of questions on wine, and some wanna know what bottles to buy for storing. Meaning wines that will improve with ageing. It's a good and complex question that depends on many factors such as grape variety, growing conditions, how the weather was that particular year, production methods, country etc etc. So here is a good tip for the holiday season:

Montesecondo Chianti Classico vintage 2015 is a remarkable bottle of wine from the Chianti region in Italy. 2015 was an excellent year for wine growers in this area. It's rated 9 out of 10 in the official rating system and is still a very young wine.
This means that if you open it now and taste the wine, it will not be as great as it could be. There are a number of reasons for this, but I will not bore you with the details :)
But these are the three reasons for you to consider buying it:

1. Christmas gift for the collector
A wine lover will recognise the producer and the vintage, and put it in the cellar/wine fridge for 5-10 years.
2. You can drink it now
If you're not into storing wines you can drink it now. Adding air to the wine will ripen it faster, making it drinkable now. Pour it into a carafe and let it breath for 3-4 hours.
3. It's a bargain 
Clocking in at only 235kr this is a scoop. 

Note that the vintage selling at Vinmonopolet varies between 2015 and 2016. Both are good, but 15 is best. 2015 needs more storage, while 2016 is more drinkable now.

Tasting notes

Montesecondo Chianti Classico 2015 - 235kr

Deep concentrated ruby red colour. 
Complex smell of cherries, woodland and spice shop. Hints of stones and smoke.

Concentrated wine with flavours of sweet cherries and dark chocolate. 
A bit developed, but will improve considerably with ageing. 

It will store well for 5 years, but I'm keeping mine fot 10 years, at least.

FOOD
Excellent with game such as deer, elk or reindeer. Also nice with a juicy entrecôte.