Winemaker Notes
This vineyard produces a wine atypical for Sangiovese in both minerality and acidity largely due to its unique soil. Consisting of marine deposits of Pliocene origin sitting above clay, the soil is rich in organic content.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Once again, this is my favorite of the three Gran Selezione wines made by Barone Ricasoli. The 2021 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Gaiole Roncicone offers energy and a great sense of focus thanks to the elegant mineral tones of crushed seashell and chalk that frame a core of elegant berry fruit. Indeed, marine fossils are often discovered in this 10-hectare vineyard site. I love the precision and linearity of the silky and long-lasting finish. The personality is finessed and fine.
Rating: 97+ -
James Suckling
There’s a freshness and zesty character to this Chianti Classico, with notes of oranges, cherries and sandalwood. Medium-bodied with fine tannins and a creamy finish. Tannins are very bright. Drinkable now, but a year or two will give it time to get even better.
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Wine Spectator
This red is a bit shy today, revealing a core of ripe cherry, strawberry, rose and iron flavors backed by vivid acidity. Its tannins are refined and well-integrated, while the finish is super long, salty and intense. Best from 2027 through 2047.
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.