Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Decanter
Octogenarian Princess Coralia Pignatelli della Leonessa is never in a rush to put her wines on the market, and has just released this striking 2017 Riserva. It hails from a notoriously hot and arid vintage, possessing the substance and structure that Pignatelli demands of the Riserva category. Unhurried in its reveal, toasted hazelnut, exotic spice, dried flowers and eventually red and black currants trickle out in measured progression. This simmers with intensity yet shuts down in the glass. Upfront structure is composed of compact tannins and steely, linear acidity that slices the palate. Irony minerals and dusty earth poke through the dense, dark fruit core, lingering persistently on the finish. It is reassuring to see the princess’ son, Luigi taking an interest in this venerated estate.
-
Vinous
The 2017 Chianti Classico Riserva is showing well today. All the textural intensity of the year comes through in this concentrated, full-bodied Riserva. Cedar, tobacco, licorice, dried herbs and incense fill out the layers. This is an especially generous bottle, one that shows the natural richness of the vintage in spades.
-
James Suckling
A complex and evolved wine with savory dried red cherry aromas and a ripe profile balanced by fresh camphor and pressed violet notes. Medium-bodied and focused on bright fruitiness, with crisp acidity and firm, grainy tannins.
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.