Tenuta di Nozzole La Forra Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2012
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Suckling
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Winemaker Notes
Impressive concentration and depth, with blackberry and red cherry aromas and flavors set in a beautiful Chianti acidity and elegant tannic structure
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The aromas of dried fruits and figs are fascinating. Full body, round and chewy tannins plus a minerally, salty and savory finish. Excellent selected and special Chianti Classico. Drink or hold.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
In a lifetime of wine enjoyment, I have savored many vintages of the Tenuta Nozzole La Forra Chianti Classico Riserva Gran Selezione; the 2012 is truly excellent and one of the winery's best efforts. The wine shows beautiful red fruit flavors that are bright and lively on the palate. Drinks well now. (Tasted: September 12, 2016, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of iris, plum, leather and a whiff of clove lead the nose. The firm, savory palate offers black cherry, red currant, licorice, black pepper and tobacco backed up by assertive, fine-grained tannins. Drink 2016–2022.
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Wine Spectator
Ripe, with black cherry and plum flavors, this red displays spice, leather and tobacco notes. Dense and monolithic today, showing fruit and structure underneath. Fine length. Best from 2018 through 2027.
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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.