Winemaker Notes
From the Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG, Tuscany Region in Italy, this Chianti Classico is made from Hand picked grapes selected at the optimum moment of the vintage. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel at controlled temperatures with about 25 days of skin contact. Ruby red in color, tending towards garnet. Intensely aromatic and complex with strong aromas of black cherry and apricot fruit. Full bodied with rich blackberry fruit flavors, an elegant mouthfeel and a strong backbone of tannins.
This red wine is an exceptional compliment to red meat, roasts, and game.
Blend: 95% Sangiovese; 5% Canaiolo & Colorino
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Concentrated, vivid fruit to this, with an intense nose of morello cherries, cassis, baked strawberries, grilled herbs, licorice and semi-dried tomatoes. Lemon zest, too. Medium-to full-bodied with ripe, integrated tannins. Long and delicious. Fantastic depth and energy.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2017 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Il Poggio has a soft and supple perfume of baked red cherry, cinnamon, incense, and roses. It is medium-bodied, with a silky texture throughout, fine-grained tannins, and warming spice on the finish. It is a lovely wine. Initially, it felt like it was beginning to show signs of maturity on opening with its pillowing and sunny fruit, but it held up wonderfully and improved over several days.
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Wine Spectator
Eucalyptus and iron accents frame the core of cherry and raspberry fruit in this intense, powerful red. Strikes a balance between fruit and savory elements, with plenty of ripe fruit midpalate, followed by a long finish of mineral, underbrush and tobacco. Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino. Best after 2024.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Laura Bianchi and her team make exceptional wine, and I am always happy to recommend Castello di Monsanto. The 2017 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigneto Il Poggio exhibits a dark garnet color, although there is less shiny luster in this hot vintage. Ripe aromas of baked plum, raspberry tart and strawberry confit rise from the bouquet. The fruit is complemented by lightly toasted spice. With fruit from 5.2-hectares with galestro-rich soils,
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.