Castello di Querceto Il Picchio Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2018 Front Label

Castello di Querceto Il Picchio Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2018

Sangiovese from Chianti Classico, Chianti, Tuscany, Italy

JS94
JD93
D93
RP92

750ML / 13.5% ABV

Other Vintages

2017

JS94
RP93
D90

2016

JS96
RP94

2015

JS96
RP92
D90

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750ML / 13.5% ABV

Winemaker Notes

Delicately balanced with bright red fruits and earthy flavor. Strong body with a bold character.

Accompanies roasts and braised meats well.

Critical Acclaim

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JS 94

James Suckling

Dark chocolate with dark berries and plums on the nose. Medium-bodied with round, creamy tannins and a fresh, vivid finish. Very fine tannins here. Shows finesse and polish. Already delicious, but better in a year or two. Try in 2023.

JD 93

Jeb Dunnuck

There is dark and powerful character in the aromatics of the 2018 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Il Picchio, with dried black cherry, tobacco, and leather. The palate is full, with warming plum fruit, cedar, and mocha. It offers ample and ripe tannins and a rich concentration throughout, with balsamic and bitter herbs. Drink 2025-2040.

D 93

Decanter

The Picchio vineyard is encircled by forest which protects it from cold northern winds. Planted on poor schistose soil, the vines are now 30-plus years old. Exuberantly youthful, aromas of blackberry, smoke, wild herbs and flinty stone are immediately captivating. It's full and quite fruity in expression, especially for a Gran Selezione. Crunchy red plum and black cherry are backed by fresh grape tannins. It becomes quite dense on the backend without sacrificing delightful freshness. This sees just eight months in barriques, of which 10% are new.

RP 92

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

This wine was first produced in 1998. It was classified as a Riserva until 2011 when it was promoted to Gran Selezione status. A blend of 95% Sangiovese with a tiny 5% addition of Colorino from a single vineyard, the Castello di Querceto 2018 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Il Picchio offers rich fruit weight and saturated aromas of blackberry and dark plum that come from reddish, iron and magnesium-rich soils. Il Picchio is a bigger wine compared to La Corte. The fruit essences in this wine recall pomegranate, orange skin and apricot. There also is grilled herb and crushed mineral.

Castello di Querceto

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Castello di Querceto Castello di Querceto Vineyards Winery Image

The François family, which settled in Tuscany in the 18th century, has owned the Castello di Querceto estate since 1897. Of French origin, the family has produced such illustrious personalities as Giuseppe François, a noted mathematician, and Alessandro, an expert on archaeology and the discoverer of important Etruscan works like the celebrated François Vase, which is now preserved in the Archaeological Museum in Florence. Castello di Querceto and the land surrounding it are fascinating places steeped in history. In the past, the castle, erected as a lookout point on the Via Cassia Imperiale, one of the principal arteries of the Roman period, helped to defend the immediate area. Today, encircled by the green of the forests and the hills, it seems as if it had been constructed purposely to protect the invaluable heritage of its vineyards and olive orchards. Vines and olives grow on both sides of the valley of the Dudda, from the Sugame Pass and, beyond Dudda, toward Lucolena and Mount San Michele, which reaches a height of 400 to 500 meters (1,312-1,640 feet).

Chianti Classico Wine

Tuscany, Italy

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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.

Sangiovese Wine

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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.

SWS543840_2018 Item# 1272251