Winemaker Notes
Bright ruby red color. The bouquet on the nose is intense, with rich cherry and red berry aromas and leafy undertones. On the palate it is silky, balanced, with medium body, refined tanning and a long flavorful finish of blackberry and chocolate.
Ideal with red grilled meat, like Bistecca Fiorentina, and semi to well-aged cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Delicate and bright, the Castello dei Rampolla 2022 Chianti Classico gives us a pure and transparent interpretation of Sangiovese. The wine shows a multitude of violets, purple fruits and tart cassis flavors. This Chianti Classico is all about verticality and brightness. It appears nearly weightless at first but eventually unfolds over the palate with a carefully dosed, mid-weight texture that gives it enough structure to pair with classic Tuscan pasta dishes featuring a sauce from slow-cooked wild boar or hare.
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Vinous
The 2022 Chianti Classico is fruity, supple and very easy to drink. Succulent dark red fruit, plum, leather, spice and a kick of blood orange are front and center. Medium in body and forward, with fine balance, the 2022 is full of charm. The warm vintage yielded an especially succulent Chianti Classico that is quite appealing.
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Wine Spectator
This is rich and exudes cherry and raspberry fruit. Iron, leafy underbrush and spice accents add detail as this winds down alongside a light dusting of tannins. Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2026 through 2035.
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.