Castello di Volpaia Chianti Classico 2018
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James
Suckling -
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Wine &
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Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Vivid ruby red. The nose has evident notes of red fruit and hints of cherries. On the palate, the wine is smooth and good structured with a fruity aftertaste.
Organically grown
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A racy, fine-tuned Chianti Classico with blackberry, black-cherry and wet-earth aromas. Medium-bodied with medium polished tannins and a long finish. Transparent. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
Made with organic grapes, this has vinous aromas of freshly pressed grapes that mingle with whiffs of wild berry, moist earth and violet. It’s bright and savory, offering Marasca cherry, blood orange and rusty nail alongside lithe tannins and vibrant acidity. Drink through 2025.
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Wine & Spirits
A juicy and energetic 2018, this wine’s ample acidity freshens the bright cherry flavors. The wine fleshes out with exposure to air, gaining hints of orange zest and subtle spices.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is a delightfully open and accessible value red that could pair with a simple chicken dinner. From an organic farm, the Volpaia 2018 Chianti Classico is a smooth, silky and fruit-driven expression that delivers on the basic promises of elegance and freshness that are associated specifically with Sangiovese from Radda in Chianti.
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James
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Robert
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Enthusiast
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Wine &
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Spectator
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Spectator
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.