Winemaker Notes
The 2021 Tenuta Perano Chianti Classico is a splendid limpid shade of ruby red. On the nose it begins with fruity notes of berries and other red fruits such as cherries and plums. The floral aspects are very evident and as always dominated by strong hints of violet and wild rose. This gives way to the spicy aroma of Perano Chianti Classico with cloves and cardamom, and ends on afresh, balsamic note. On the palate it is mineral and rightly tannic, with asilky tannic texture, while the final taste is fresh and mineral. It has a beautiful olfactory taste response and along, intense aromatic persistence.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Cherry, blackberry and violet aromas and flavors announce this rich, supple and bright red. The underlying structure is firm and well-integrated, lending finesse and focus overall, with fine length.
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Decanter
Purchased by Frescobaldi in 2017, the Perano estate is in the northern sector of Gaiole with vineyards between 400 and 600 metres. With a hefty percentage of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, the blend is a bit of a throwback for Chianti Classico. Nevertheless, it's a solid wine. The nose is oak-led with roasted coffee and clove atop cherry and black currants. Tinged with mineral and chocolate, the palate is sophisticated, concentrated and tight, intersected by crisp acidity. It has has firm, tactile tannins and the stuffing for ageing over the next seven to eight years.
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Vinous
The 2021 Chianti Classico is a rich, boisterous wine. Juicy blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice and a kiss of French oak all run through this generous, exuberant red from Perano. This is an especially bold, succulent style with plenty of Gaiole breadth.
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.