This young Chianti is graced with a lovely label and hails from the town of Vinci, Leonardo's home town. What is even more beautiful is the taste and the price!

While deciding what wine to buy to go with my Easter lamb my eye was caught by a lovely label. It is a copy of a painting by Leonard da Vinci. The next thing that I noticed was the price--$10. Whoa! This wine is a Chianti, produced in Italy by Alberto Antonini at Cantine Leonardo da Vinci. This is a 200-vineyard Tuscan grower cooperative and winery. There is a strong relationship with Gallo, which purchases much of its production for export to the United States.

I was a bit skeptical of this new wine. Was this going to be a mass produced plonk, unworthy of my Easter dinner? Fortunately there was a DOCG around the neck. DOCG stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita. DOCG wines are tasted, analyzed, and tested by the Italian government. The DOCG standard indicates a level of quality not always found in other products. With this promise I bought several bottles.

What might have been a gamble turned out to be a good investment. This wine pairs perfectly with Lamb with Walnut Pesto. During a recent wine dinner at The Jazz Factory I was served the Da Vinci Chianti with a West Indian Seafood Stew. Another great pairing.

Okay, okay, but what does the wine taste like? It is a young Chianti with aromas and flavors of black cherries, strawberries, and earthy spices. It is jucy without being too jammy. The soft tannins make this a great wine for those who do not usually like Chianti. I uncorked my bottle 30 minutes before serving and the flavors really opened up. The wine is made of Sangiovese, with 10% Merlot and 5% Syrah grapes.

Da Vinci 2003 Chianti Classico