Winemaker Notes
Intense ruby red flecked with burgundy. Elegant on the nose with floral notes of lily and a good concentration of ripe red fruit. Strong and full-bodied with sweet tannins. Long, persistent finish.
Excellent with flavorful first courses, red meat, meat roasts, game, aged and medium-aged cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A solid, well-built and intense red showing aromas of dark cherries, dark plums, bark and balsamic on the nose. Medium- to full-bodied with a textural, serious mid-palate. Well driven and a little firm at this stage, with a long, vibrant finish. Try after 2025.
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Decanter
Good concentration, with ripe red fruit and spices. Smooth tannins. Red and black fruit with smoke, leather and dried porcini. Rich, broad and approachable.
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Wine Spectator
Black cherry, black currant, iron, smoke and Tuscan scrub notes mark this lithe, focused red. Solidly structured, with both vivid acidity and pointed tannins supporting the flavors. A well-balanced version, with bright fruit, if a touch chewy in the end. Best from 2026 through 2042.
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.