Winemaker Notes
The 2016 Dievole Chianti Classico Riserva Novecento is an intense ruby red with garnet highlights. An intense bouquet of ripe fruit and spiced notes. A bodied and balanced wine , with elegant, pleasant tannins. Good acidity and a distinct minerality. Long, elegant finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Chianti Classico Riserva Novecento takes the intensity and the level of sophistication up an important step if you have just tasted the entry-level Chianti Classico immediately before this wine (as I did). This wine is brooding and multifaceted with layers of dark fruit, spice, tar and smoke. There is a very deep quality here too that reminds me of earth or crushed black rocks. This beautiful vintage offers great texture that is velvety and rich without ever feeling heavy or slow. The finish is very long and crisp. It would be great with braised meats. The blend is 95% Sangiovese, 3% Canaiolo and 2% Colorino, fermented in cement and later aged in oak for 17 months.
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James Suckling
A silky, refined red with crushed-berry, cherry and mineral character. Racy and precise with a lovely combination of fine tannins and bright acidity. Drink now and enjoy.
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.