Winemaker Notes
Intense ruby red with garnet highlights. Intense bouquet of ripe red fruit and spiced notes. Full-bodied and balanced wine with elegant and pleasant tannins. Good acidity and distinct minerality are not lacking. The finish is persistent and elegant.
Blend: 95% Sangiovese, 3% Canaiolo, 2% Colorino
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is another terrific expression from Dievole and my favorite wine in this group. The organic 2021 Chianti Classico Riserva Novecento shows an extra layer of complexity and depth compared to the entry-level wine, as expected. This wine speaks to the quality of the vintage and the fruit by offering wild berry, bramble, blue flower and sweet earth. The Novecento is more minerally in personality, and you feel snappy acidity on the close. The vineyard is planted on clay and marl limestone that promotes freshness. This release of 60,000 bottles is 95% Sangiovese, 3% Canaiolo and 2% Colorino. It ferments in cement and ages in foudre for 18 months. These results are accessible and especially gastronomic.
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Decanter
Novecento is a selection of the very best grapes of the estate. This 2021 is youthful yet clearly delicious. A salty tang clings to the wooden veil. Bright and energetic, there are glimpses of pure berries peeking through but it deserves time to show off all it has to offer.
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James Suckling
A typical sample of Gallo Nero, with bright red cherries that are almost sour, fresh violets, licorice and black pepper. Earthy minerality. The palate is firm with chalky, chewy tannins, crisp acidity and a medium body. It will evolve nicely for 10 years, otherwise ready to drink.
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Vinous
The 2021 Chianti Classico Riserva Novecento is an elegant, perfumed wine. Crushed flowers, sweet red-toned fruit, spice, mocha and blood orange open in the glass. Bright saline notes sustain the finish. This is a very polished, sophisticated Riserva from Dievole.
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Wine Spectator
Supple in texture and expressive, this red features cherry, blackberry, plum and iron flavors. Vibrant and powerful, picking up wild herbs and eucalyptus while building to the gripping finish. Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino. Best from 2027 through 2043.
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.