Day 355 - Gaetano d’ Aquino Chianti Riserva

TEN DAYS LEFT.

Ten more days of 2015.  Ten more days for this massive project!  Ten more reviews!!

Before we start today's, let's just have a quick "Moment of Zen", shall we?  This is from my walk on the beach this afternoon.  Enjoy (I sure did).

Now - CHIANTI!!

Italian Chianti, normally one of my favorite types of wine.

Here is what David thinks of this wine:  “Nice.  Tasty.  Full flavored wine.  It really gives you a lot of “red wine” taste.  It goes well with a big meal.  I give it a 4.”

I do not like this Chianti as well as our usual Chianti, which I presumed I reviewed much earlier this year.  There I go again, presuming…  You know all that does is make a “pres” out of you and me…  I just looked back and see that I never reviewed it!  But now that I look at photos of it, why I do believe it is the SAME maker as this Chianti Riserva, only skip the RISERVA!! 

Here is the one we often buy, this is NOT what is being reviewed here

So our “go to Chianti” is Gaetano d’Aquino Chianti, which is a buck cheaper than the Riserva I am reviewing here.  To my taste buds, that “non-Riserva” is better – more “clean” tasting (yes I realize that is probably not a “wine reviewer” word…) and delicious.  I wish I had a bottle of that Chianti to place next to this Riserva, and you KNOW if we were still in Virginia I would run to Trader Joe’s right this very moment and pick one up to do a blind side by side taste test!  But alas, the nearest TJ’s at the moment is 90 minutes away, and we still have to put decorations on the Christmas tree and make the Christmas cards…  I do not think a road trip for Chianti is in the cards right now…

We served this Riserva with a “breakfast for dinner” – eggs, toast, bacon, hashbrowns, and a TJ’s Mega Crunch Salad with a Bite ( reviewed here ).  So maybe part of the problem was that we were essentially drinking WINE with BREAKFAST (even though it was 10:00 pm – man when I write that I see how screwed up we really are!!!). 

David, remote control in hand, wearing "shorts" he "made" by cutting off pants.  Sexy.

All in all, this wine just doesn’t taste as full-bodied and delicious as the non-Riserva bottle.  The non-Riserva one wins for me and it is a buck cheaper.  Heck, I am a cheap date.  Maybe that is why David sticks with me.  J

Sometimes you don't even grab a proper wine glass...

Cheaper and better

A bit more money without a better taste

I give this Riserva bottle a 3.  I say that TJ's has loads of wines that are better than this that you should choose from.  David, however, says he thinks we should all just learn to get along and live in peace and harmony.  I think the spirit of the season (or the SPIRITS of the season??) may have gotten to him...

Ok, we must decorate our Christmas tree!  It has stood here naked long enough.

Price – $5.99

Rating – 3.5