Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
With 20 of its 110 hectares in the western sector of Panzano, Fontodi ended up losing over 20% of its total volume of grapes in the violent mid-August hailstorm. Despite reduced quantities, quality certainly wasn’t compromised. The hot, arid summer has yielded a particularly dense and still somewhat austere wine. Coffee, blackcurrant and dusty stone surface furtively on the nose. Powerful and hearty with just enough of a wild edge, this is saturated with dark fruit and gravelly minerals. The tannins are properly chewy. but it is that intrinsic juiciness that stands out and has me craving a grilled steak.
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James Suckling
Cinnamon, earth, red cherries, raspberries and cracked black pepper on the nose. The palate is fresh and juicy, with tart red fruit and salty flavors. The lingering finish shows a bit of earthiness. An honest, expressive, light-bodied example of a Sonoma Coast pinot.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The organic Fontodi 2022 Chianti Classico shows a dark color and a deep, velvety appearance. The bouquet opens to earthy aromas with baked plum, cherry and pressed blue flower. This is quite a rich edition. It's a little different than past releases, but it's also accessible and opulent. This 100% Sangiovese is fermented in steel and ages in both barrique.
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Wine Spectator
Lush and saturated with black cherry, blackberry, violet and mineral flavors. The focused fruit is allied to lively acidity and dense, refined tannins, leaving a sensation of harmony. Terrific length. Drink now through 2033.
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Vinous
The 2022 Chianti Classico is a soft, easygoing wine, despite its considerable concentration. Black cherry, dried herbs, mocha, liquorice, new leather and cloves open nicely. In this warm vintage, the goal was to harvest early and extract lightly, both of which worked quite well. In tasting, the 2022 comes across as a bit compact and light in structure relative to the norm for this wine.
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.