Castello di Querceto Chianti Classico Riserva 2009
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Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Matches well with roasted meats and seasoned cheese.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Such clarity of fruit to this Chianti Classico with black cherries and blueberries and sliced mushrooms. Full body, chewy and rich. Very structured. Like a Brunello.
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Wine Spectator
Though packed with fresh cherry, berry and tobacco flavors, this is also chewy, with a spice and cedar side that adds depth. A modern style, yet harmonious and polished. Best from 2014 through 2023.
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Wine Enthusiast
Vintner Alessandro François has crafted a dark and penetrating riserva, with savory aromas of black cherry, cured meat, moist earth and tobacco. Despite its bold style, the elegance of Sangiovese comes through nicely.
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Among Italy's elite red grape varieties, Sangiovese has the perfect intersection of bright red fruit and savory earthiness and is responsible for the best red wines of Tuscany. While it is best known as the chief component of Chianti, it is also the main grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and reaches the height of its power and intensity in the complex, long-lived Brunello di Montalcino. Somm Secret—Sangiovese doubles under the alias, Nielluccio, on the French island of Corsica where it produces distinctly floral and refreshing reds and rosés.
One of the first wine regions anywhere to be officially recognized and delimited, Chianti Classico is today what was originally defined simply as Chianti. Already identified by the early 18th century as a superior zone, the official name of Chianti was proclaimed upon the area surrounding the townships of Castellina, Radda and Gaiole, just north of Siena, by Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany in an official decree in 1716.
However, by the 1930s the Italian government had appended this historic zone with additonal land in order to capitalize on the Chianti name. It wasn’t until 1996 that Chianti Classico became autonomous once again when the government granted a separate DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) to its borders. Ever since, Chianti Classico considers itself no longer a subzone of Chianti.
Many Classicos are today made of 100% Sangiovese but can include up to 20% of other approved varieties grown within the Classico borders. The best Classicos will have a bright acidity, supple tannins and be full-bodied with plenty of ripe fruit (plums, black cherry, blackberry). Also common among the best Classicos are expressive notes of cedar, dried herbs, fennel, balsamic or tobacco.