WINE OF THE WEEK: Villa Cafaggio Chianti Classico 2021, Italy

£10.99/£14.99, Waitrose

This organic Chianti Classico stood out at the Waitrose spring press tasting for being a delight, true to type, and good value at £14.99. Now at 25% off it’s even better value. What are you waiting for? Surely not summer?

Fortunately, no sunshine is needed to soak up the perfumed, tangy raspberry and cherry fruit, dried herbs, hint of clove and quiet tannic grip. And, while it’s a winner with food, it can be something as simple as some sourdough dipped into really good olive oil or a chunk of Parmesan. (Villa Cafaggio has eight hectares of olive trees and produces its own extra virgin oil. Lucky them.)

The 60-ha organic estate, half of it under vine, is in the hamlet of Greve in Chianti, in Panzano in the Conca d’Oro area, the heart of Chianti Classico, and it’s an all-Sangiovese wine aged for 12 months in large Slavonian oak barrels and the same again in glass-lined concrete. Attilio Pagli and Laura Zuddas were the expert winemaking team behind it.

Apart from meaty or tomato ragùs and pasta dishes, this 2021 pairs well with a spectrum of meat, vegetable, bean and chickpea dishes. Straccetti di manzo (strips of beef tossed in olive oil then sauteed and served on rocket with shavings of Parmesan), tagliata (griddled steak, sliced and served on rocket), lamb or pork with fennel and capers, rabbit, lamb’s kidneys or shepherd’s pie.

It also teams up with summery vegetable stews such as ratatouille and caponata (as long as the caponata isn’t too sharp), with grilled and roast Mediterranean veg and squashes, mild vegetarian chilli, and it also takes on the challenge of grilled radicchio with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and Gorgonzola Dolce. 13.5%. Bottle weight: 550g

Villa Cafaggio Chianti Classico 2021, Italy

£10.99 on offer until 2 July 2024, then £14.99, Waitrose

#wine #Italy #Sangiovese #Chianti #wineandfood #winepairing #supermarket #red #organic