Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Gorgeous aromas of black cherries, rose petals and fresh flowers follow through to a medium-bodied palate with integrated tannins and a fresh, clean finish. Hints of hazelnuts and walnuts at the end. From organically grown grapes.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Chianti Classico Dofana is, to my mind, the most complete of the three Chianti Classico expressions by Fattoria Carpineta Fontalpino from this classic vintage. This is a dark and exuberant wine (made from 100% Sangiovese) with the elegance you get in the Fontalpino and the power or fruity ripeness you get in the Montaperto. This is the full package. The wine starts with bold cherry aromas and moves forward with rose hip, tobacco and campfire ash. Rating: 93+
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Wine & Spirits
Densely concentrated, this sangiovese reflects the clay-rich soils of the Dofana vineyard in Castelnuovo Berardenga. Its dark cherry and licorice flavors and grippy tannins will match mushroom ragù.
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Wine Spectator
There is balance and contrast to this red, featuring a soft, delicate attack that boasts cherry, strawberry, iron and underbrush flavors. The back half is tough and dry, with astringent tannins truncating the finish. This should resolve itself in a few years. Sangiovese and Merlot. Best from 2021 through 2030.
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.