Winemaker Notes
Pure ruby-red with purplish highlights. Rich, intense aromas of red fruits with tertiary notes. A powerful, sumptuous palate that finishes with harmonious, ripe tannins, delicate and lingering.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
"he 2021 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigneto La Casuccia is one of the most open and expressive wines in this range—a wine that hints at the greatness of the year. Crushed rose petal, blood orange, mint, spice, new leather and cedar all saturate the palate. Silky tannins wrap it all together. Sensual and deep, the Casuccia is both immensely pleasurable and very serious. What a wine."
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James Suckling
The dark blue fruit is exciting, with blackcurrants, black cherries, raspberries, dark mushrooms and pine cones on both the nose and palate. It’s medium-bodied with fine and tight tannins that give this tension and structure. It’s rather shy now and will need three or four years to show its true self. Try after 2027.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Castello di Ama 2021 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigneto La Casuccia is a bit closed on first nose, resulting in a bouquet that has not fully blossomed. I have extended the drinking window as a result. You do furrow out characteristic aromas of black cherry, spice and crushed stone. The wine is flavorful, amply structured and very long on the palate. The nose holds back, but the mouthfeel is raring to go.
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Wine Spectator
Offers ample black cherry and blackberry fruit, while a base of dusty tannins keeps this solidly structured. Earth and tobacco accents add detail, while in the end the silky texture is offset with pointed tannins. The length shows this reds ultimate potential. Sangiovese and Merlot. Best from 2027 through 2042. 511 cases made, 50 cases imported.
Disenchanted with Italian winemaking laws in the 1970s, a few rebellious Tuscan winemakers decided to get creative. Instead of following tradition, to bottle Sangiovese by itself, they started blending it with international varieties, namely Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah in differing proportions and with amazing success. However, some Tuscan Blends don’t even include Sangiovese. Somm Secret—The suffix –aia in Italian modifies a word in much the same way –y acts in English. For example, a place with many stones (sassi) becomes Sassicaia. While not all Super Tuscan producer names end in –aia, they all share a certain coy nomenclature.
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.