Faulty Italian Wines

This weekend I tried a couple of, what should have been, very nice Tuscan reds. Instead, disaster struck.

The first was a Chianti Classico 2006 from Castello Dei Rampolla at 14% alcohol which just tasted of red wine vinager. I cut the capsule and the top of the bottle was covered in red-stained mould. This was completely undrinkable.





The second was the Bolgheri Sondraia 2007 from Poggio Al Tesoro at 14.5% alcohol. On opening, the contents smelt of old damp cardboard. Obviously it was suffering from about of TCA. Underneath was some great dark fruits however. This would have probably been a great bottle if it weren't corked. With a bit of imagination, it was possible to drink this wine thanks to the concentrated fruit.