Winemaker Notes
Deep ruby red. The round bouquet releases fragrances that linger beautifully, with scents of sweet violets that meld into smooth, spicy hints of tobacco leaf. This is a full-bodied red, velvety smooth marked by ripe, succulent tannins harmoniously integrated with the acidity.
Perfect with wild game, roasted and grilled meats, as well as aged cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The San Felice 2019 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Il Grigio (made with 80% Sangiovese and 20% complementary indigenous grapes) stands out due to its velvety richness and expressive flavor profile. The wine delivers measured intensity with bright purple and black fruits, a good sense of energy and drive, and some lingering spiciness on the close. It is rich but not heavy.
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Wine Spectator
Cherry, plum, leather, iron and sweet spice flavors mingle in this dense, broad red, which stays focused courtesy of its vibrant acidity, with a wide girth of tannins on the fresh, complex finish. There's a lot going on; this just needs time. Sangiovese, Pugnitello, Malvasia Nera, Ciliegiolo, Mazzese and Abrusco. Best from 2027 through 2043.
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Wine Enthusiast
The warm, inviting, almost sensuous nose features abundant tar and gravel, along with succulent aromas of blood orange, blackberry and caramelized fennel. More dark berry notes emerge on the palate before a bitter finish of citrus and dark chocolate. Sticky, dense tannins bind everything together. Total Beverage Solution.
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James Suckling
A chewy red that has aromas of salted plums, olives and sun-dried tomatoes, followed by cedar, licorice and wet earth. It’s medium- to full-bodied with firm tannins. Slightly rough and woody, but should relax and integrate.
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.