A juicy, joyous Chianti

2017 Chianti This is one of the juiciest, most joyous and finest value Chiantis I have tasted in years, says Matthew Jukes.

Matthew Jukes
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published
in Features

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2017 Chianti, Colli Senesi, Campriano, Tuscany, Italy£12.90, reduced to £11.45 each by the case, Haynes Hanson & Clark, 020-7584 7927, hhandc.co.uk

Picture the scene secret agent James Bond and arch enemyLe Chiffre, sitting oppositeeach other as the stakes raiseever higher in the memorable poker scene in Casino Royale.007 carefully studies LeChiffre's face for signs of the"tell" that indicates he is bluffing.Or is he? I love this film and in particular those personal ticksthat give away how others are truly feeling.

I first tasted this wine in a line-up of bottles with Jim Eustace, managing director of wine emporium Haynes, Hanson & Clark. I never judge a wine by its label, preferring to zone in on the flavour. That way, I can be sure that it is the contents of the bottle that have stood up to my rigorous assessment rather than the artwork! However, as Jim poured this glass for me I spotted a nigh on imperceptible curve in the corner of his mouth which grew and grew.

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Try as he might, he couldn't stifle a smile, which rapidly turned into a grin. I didn't have to be a clairvoyant to figure out that he had a bit of a thing for this newly arrived vintage.

Now, this is a man who doesn't give anything away and so I knew that '17 Campriano was special and, of course, it is. This is one of the juiciest, most joyous and finest value Chiantis I have tasted in years. Daniel Craig needs to pour this wine next time he fancies a game of poker, too.

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year (matthewjukes.com).

Matthew Jukes
Matthew Jukes

Matthew Jukes has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books.  

Matthew regularly lectures, judges, speaks at wine conferences and runs masterclass tastings for both corporate and private clients all over the world. Matthew is also the creator of his ground-breaking initiative, the One Day Wine School, an indulgent day of tasting and learning first performed in 2006.

He has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006 and has written a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine since 1999. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website, www.matthewjukes.com.

Matthew is one of the world’s leading experts on Australian wine and, with Brisbane-based wine writer Tyson Stelzer, runs an annual competition in Australia to find ‘The Great Australian Red’.  He was made Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK at the 2012 Australia Day Foundation Gala dinner. 

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy.  His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.

 

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