Winemaker Notes
Blend: 100% Sangiovese
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is so classy, with finesse and sensitivity that are so mesmerizing. It’s delicate and almost weightless, with a beautiful and energetic fruit and acid balance. It’s medium-bodied and extremely long. Medium chewy. It goes on and on. Dark cherries, bark and lots of flowers in the finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Now identified by the Gaiole subregion on the back label, the Barone Ricasoli 2021 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Gaiole Castello di Brolio reveals a beautiful bouquet that is packed tight with carefully ripened fruit. There is a sweet spot in terms of aromas with a hint of candied cherry that is folded into iris root, dried mint and spice. This generous Sangiovese ends with lasting freshness.
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Wine Spectator
A core of ripe cherry, plum and pomegranate pervades this vibrant, complex red. A balanced version, with a firm grip on the finish complementing its fresh acidity. The long aftertaste echoes the fruit and evokes mineral and Mediterranean scrub elements. Best from 2026 through 2043.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
(Tasted: July 13, 2025, San Francisco, CA) The aristocratic 2021 Ricasoli CeniPrimo Gran Selezione is a Tuscan treasure. It opens with aromas of rustic spice, wild strawberries, and a touch of sandalwood, leading to a long, elegant finish. For a truly elevated pairing, ask the chef to prepare porcini-crusted veal loin with black truffle jus and Parmigiano polenta—and savor every moment. (Tasted: July 13, 2025, San Francisco, CA)
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Vinous
The 2021 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Castello di Brolio is redolent of red-toned Sangiovese fruit, white pepper, cedar, tobacco, incense and dried herbs. Bright and complex in the glass, with terrific energy, the Riserva is another fine offering from the Ricasoli family. In fact, the 2021 is one of the finest editions I can recall tasting.
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.