Fontodi Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna del Sorbo 2013
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Robert
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James
Suckling -
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A wine like this gives you a visceral rush of excitement. The 2013 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna del Sorbo speaks to your most profound instincts and awakens a sudden and tangible taste of Tuscany. If you've ever visited Panzano in Chianti, you will be immediately transported there thanks to this fabulous wine. Vigna del Sorbo (100% Sangiovese aged in new and neutral barrique for two years) is authentic and focused with tart berry flavors surrounded by spice, truffle and rose petal. It offers a deep and lasting sense of richness.
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James Suckling
A succulent Chianti Classico showing dried-fruit and cedar character. Full, chewy and very long with a juicy finish. So structured. Pure sangiovese from Fontodi's best vineyard and aged 24 months in wood. Serious. Better in 2020. One of the best wines ever from Vigna del Sorbo.
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Wine Spectator
A mix of leather, earth and black cherry flavors segue into an aftertaste of tobacco, iron and tea notes in this complex, beefy red. The tannins are rustic. Best from 2018 through 2029.
Other Vintages
2020-
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Robert
Parker - Decanter
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James
Suckling
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Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling
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James
Suckling - Decanter
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Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
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Wine
Spectator
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.