Audrey Frick began her wine career at Frasca, a renowned restaurant owned by Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey.
Starting from the back office, she swiftly advanced to the wine team while earning her Advanced Sommelier credential from the Court of Master Sommeliers. Later, she joined the opening wine team at Tavernetta in Denver, where she became the lead sommelier, fostering a culture of wine education and curating an all-Italian wine list. She also gained high-end retail experience at the Boulder Wine Merchant.
Audrey’s passion for wine led her to Europe for harvests at Iuli in Piedmont and Marquis d’Angerville in Burgundy. As a contributing editor at JebDunnuck.com, she aims to demystify Italian wine culture, history, and regionality, guiding readers on what to drink, when to drink it, and ideal pairings. Last year, she visited Querciabella for the first time and tasted a selection of Chianti Classico wines with our winemaker, Manfred.
CHIANTI CLASSICO DOCG
Gran Selezione 2019 · 96/100
“A jeweled ruby with a magenta tinge, the 2019 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione offers some creamier aromas of cocoa, black cherry liqueur, more raspberry fruit, pine, and dark mineral earth. Full-bodied, with a velvety texture, sweet tannins, notes of black cherry, and a lush, long, ripe finish, it has fresh acidity but a warming, rounded feel. It’s showing its more primary side right now, coming from a shy vintage, and feels like it’s going to be slow to mature. As it opens, it reveals notes of fresh lavender and sage. It’s very well done and will definitely be a more serious wine.” —AF
Riserva 2020 · 94/100
“The bright magenta 2020 Chianti Classico Riserva has a great nose that opens to expressive notes of fresh forest herbs, anise, wet stones, red cherry liqueur, framboise, and juniper, with a high-toned lift to the aromas that are fantastic. Medium-bodied, it has a more linear feel compared to the Chianti Classico, with fine, ripe tannins and great, balanced energy. This beautiful Riserva is going to last for 15 or more years. I love its fantastic tension and energy with a refreshing blood orange note on the finish. This is a great one – bravo!” —AF
Riserva 2019 · 95/100
“Readers looking for a serious, yet polished style will love the 2019 Chianti Classico Riserva. Dark layers of menthol, licorice, black cherry, and incense intertwine and unfold in the glass. Full and generous with red and black fruit, it has a remarkable weightlessness while simultaneously delivering beautiful concentration. With ripe tannins, notes of blood orange zest, red plum, and salty earth, and a refreshing snap of acidity on the finish, it is approachable in its youth and will continue to improve over the coming 10-15 years. This is an outstanding wine to snap up.” —AF
Querciabella 2021 · 93/100
“A saturated purple/magenta hue, the 2021 Chianti Classico is lush and fresh with aromas of black raspberry, black cherry, violet, and fresh leather. Plush and inviting, with bright acidity along the sides of the palate shining through, it offers a velvety texture with a long finish. It’s polished but not oaky and has a very refined feel, with medium to full body and a long and balanced finish.” —AF
TOSCANA IGT
Batàr 2021 · 96/100
“A bright silver/straw color, the 2021 Batar is a baby at this stage, although the estate has significantly dialed back the new oak over the evolution of their releases. It opens to aromas of parmesan rind, fresh almonds, fennel, white flowers, melon rind, and white peach. Full bodied while retaining good tension and a high-quality, rounded creaminess, it has a long, long finish, with a hint of saline and key lime oils. I love where this wine has taken things. It has a light smokiness that starts to lift as it opens in the glass. This is going to continue to improve with proper cellaring” —AF
Camartina 2019 · 94/100
“A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Sangiovese, from vines at 450 meters elevation, the rich ruby-colored 2019 Camartina is very appealing aromatically, with notes of fresh blackberry, mossy forest earth, and graphite. It’s full-bodied without being heavy and has a refined and elegant feel, with a backbone of Sangiovese to keep things more linear, ripe tannins, and a clean finish with good length. It’s showing quite well now but will improve with another few years in a bottle.” —AF
Palafreno 2020 · 95/100
“A more saturated red/purple color, the 2020 Palafreno is all Merlot and reveals a very pretty bouquet of violets, fresh plums, and black raspberries. It offers a lot of fresh lift on the palate, which is full-bodied though not heavy, with sweet tannins and a nice poppy lift throughout, while retaining wonderfully balanced ripeness and very nice notes of fresh earth on the finish.” —AF
