Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Plenty of dark plums, black cherries, blackberry pie, cedar, tobacco and a hint of orange rind. There’s a real vitality to the palate, which is so well carved out by firm, savory tannins and seriously bright acidity. A chewy finish. Drink in 2022.
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Decanter
Produced since 1983, Rancia hails from a 9ha vineyard sitting at 418 metres above sea level. It's a massal selection where the old vines provide material for newer plantings. Aged in French barriques (50% new), this leads with subtle vanilla aromas before wild forest berries and violets take over. This is very polished and silky in texture, although the tannins build stealthily and an underlying iron nuance adds intrigue. The finish lingers, promising much more to come. Highly satisfying. Drinking Window 2019 - 2031
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia is a tremendous wine with an impactful yet very elegant bouquet. The central theme here is darkness and richness, and you get both of those things to the extent that Sangiovese can offer. The magic here is that Sangiovese sticks stubbornly to its inner grace and elegance, especially in a classic vintage such as this. Gravel alberese soils add to the wine's overall sharpness and detailed focus. There is a touch of sweet cherry confit ripeness on the close.
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Wine & Spirits
Brisk acidity and orange-peel accents propel this wine’s saturated red cherry flavors. The wine is a lively expression of Tuscan terroir, brimming with notes of fennel and sage, brightened by chalky mineral tones. It’s ageworthy, yet hard to resist now.
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Wine Spectator
The fine cherry, plum, leather and spice flavors pick up accents of chocolate, earth and mineral as this red gathers steam. Builds to a firmly structured finish, where sweet fruit and dusty tannins linger. Drink now through 2028.
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.