Winemaker Notes
Chianti Classico Capotondo di Castelvecchi shows warm tones of candied creme de cassis, dried cherry and black licorice. The wine is bright, fresh and tasty on the finish. The aromatic baggage is intriguing: fruit, earth and spices. It is a wine that does not lack tension and depth. The succulent palate offers blackberry, star anise and white pepper alongside polished tannins.
Wide wine, excellent for all meal and to accompany first tasty dishes as sausage and mushroom lasagna, baked red meat or platter of cold cuts and cheeses of medium maturing.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Black fruit and nuts on the nose, following through to a medium body with very fine tannins that are just poking their head above the tight fruit and mineral core.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This estate sent me a little vertical of this wine covering three vintages. The oldest is the Castelvecchi 2018 Chianti Classico Capotondo. This blend of 88% Sangiovese and 12% Canaiolo reveals a darkly saturated color and rich aromas of cherry liqueur, dried currant, grilled rosemary, earth and tarry smoke. Despite the robust nature of these aromas, the wine is streamlined in terms of texture and mild on the mid-palate.
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Wine Enthusiast
This blend of 88% Sangiovese and 12% Canaiolo opens with aromas of violet, spice and a hint of eucalyptus. The succulent palate offers blackberry, star anise and white pepper alongside polished tannins.
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.