Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Red fruit, black cherry and herbal aromas. This is splendid stuff which has the full flotilla of cherry flavours of all kinds, and isn’t weighted down or overburdened with dry tannins. From start to finish, its class whispers at you insistently with good structure, a nice velvety finish and well-integrated tannins.
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James Suckling
A subtle and refined wine with cherry, chocolate and hints of meat. Medium body, ultra-fine texture and a long finish. So beautiful. Decadent and complex. Drink now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is one of Barone Ricasoli's two Grand Selezione wines. The 2013 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Colledilà is a delicious wine that excels in terms of its generosity and pureness. The 2013 is an excellent one for the 7.5 hectare Colledilà vineyard that dates all the way back to 1832 (it is older than Italy). The 2012 vintage was not produced. Poor soils consist of marl limestone and alberese stones, and the wine does indeed present evident mineral tones that add balance and elegance. It feels etched and shapely in the mouth. I loved the muscle and sheer power of this beautiful wine. It requires ample decanting time, but it should age gracefully. This wine will be released in 2016.
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Wine Spectator
Rich and round, this features black cherry, currant, tobacco and earth flavors, matched to a powerful frame. Long, picking up a mineral element on the finish. Best from 2018 through 2027.
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.