2001 Podere Il Palazzino ‘Argenina’ Chianti Classico
Podere Il Palazzino is best known for Grosso Sanese, the Tuscan estate’s superb Sangiovese. Italian wine buffs are so focused on that wine that they tend to forget how wonderful Il Palazzino’s Chianti Classico is. The 2001 is outstanding, inky and dark, scribbled over with mint and fat black cherries.
Keep a few bottles on hand for any occasion. It drinks well all by itself, better with a chunk of Reggiano, best with food, which is the way Italian wines are meant to be enjoyed. Of course, it works with anything Tuscan -- pasta fagioli, pappardelle with duck sauce, arista (pork roasted with fennel and garlic).
-- S. Irene Virbila
Quick swirl
Region: Tuscany
Price: $14.99
Style: Focused and ripe
Food it goes with: pasta fagioli, pappardelle with duck sauce or a meat ragu, roast pork.
Where you find it: Beverage Warehouse in Marina del Rey, (310) 306-2822; Larchmont Village Wine & Cheese in Los Angeles, (323) 856-8699; the Wine Cask in Santa Barbara, (805) 966-9463; Woodland Hills Wine Co. in Woodland Hills, (818) 222-1111.