Winemaker Notes
The Coltassala has a vivid ruby color. This is a well-structured, complex wine with an elegant nose and hints of vanilla, cacao and fruit.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Very attractive with ripe cherries, red plums, dark chocolate and spices with hints of dried lavender and citrus peel. Medium-bodied with lots of energy and tension. Tannins are polished and well-integrated to the wine. Very complete and balanced. Crunchy and long. 100% sangiovese. From organically grown grapes. Better from 2025.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Coltassala is a deep jeweled red color and reveals a sweet perfume of polished leather, raspberry liqueur, candied roses, and sweet soil, with a touch of blue fruit coming through as well. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the palate with ripe tannins and rounded, red-berried fruit, and it has more modest acidity and a bit of black tea and forest herbs on the finish. It’s an appealing wine now, and although it will have a substantial and age-worthy life ahead, it may not be the longest-lived vintage of this wine. Drink 2025-2040.
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Wine Spectator
Saturated with black currant, black cherry, iron and wild herb aromas and flavors, this red is firmly structured and shows fine harmony already in its youth. The supple texture is offset by well-integrated, dusty tannins, while the fruit echoes on the lingering finish. Best from 2025 through 2040.
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.