Brancaia Chianti Classico Riserva 2017
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker - Decanter
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Intense, medium to full-bodied wine. Long bouquet of cherry, black fruit and a continuum of spice, leather, tar and tilled earth. The mouthfeel is equal parts structured, fresh and succulent.
This wine pairs perfectly alongside grilled meat, roast or braised beef and veal, stewed dishes, grilled fish and pasta dishes with strong tasting sauces.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A beautiful, floral wine with flowers, cherries and currants that follow through to a full body, round and juicy tannins and a flavorful finish. A big Chianti Classico, yet there’s freshness and form to it. Drink now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is a beautiful wine that shows the crisp linearity and bright focus that are characteristics of limestone soils and cool elevations. The 2017 Chianti Classico Riserva is a soft and enriched red wine with plump cherry and blackberry, spice, crushed stone and dried flowers. I love the extreme focus that comes through despite the hot and dry vintage. I think this wine should flesh out further with more bottle aging, so stay tuned.
Rating: 93+
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Decanter
Brancaia’s Riserva combines fruit from estate vineyards in Radda and Castellina, though the plots vary from vintage to vintage. The final selection is made through tasting trials of separate lots conducted by owner Barbara Widmer and her team. The 2017 comes across as less oak-led than previous vintages and is fairly reserved. With coaxing, it divulges chocolate, mint tea, tobacco and forest berries. The tannins are still rather rigid and a tad dry, while the fruit is mellow and soft. Spiced plum pads out the palate and the finish brings in powdered cocoa notes.
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2020-
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James
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James
Suckling -
Robert
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Robert
Parker - Decanter
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James
Suckling -
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Spectator
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James
Suckling
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James
Suckling
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Robert
Parker - Decanter
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Wine
Enthusiast -
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Spectator
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker
Founded by Swiss couple Brigitte and Bruno Widmer in the famed hillsides of Tuscany more than 30 years ago, Brancaia is the modern face of luxury Italian wine. Rooted in the bold Super Tuscan movement that forever changed Italy’s winemaking culture, the wines of Brancaia blend classic Italian grapes with international varieties, bringing a decidedly modern touch to a centuries-old wine region.
Today the winery is still family owned and operated, led by the Widmers’ daughter, winemaker Barbara Widmer. Barbara has excelled at perfecting the style and quality of Brancaia wines by producing elegant, complex wines with a strong Tuscan identity.
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.