Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Big and rich style with velvety tannins and lots of berry, chocolate and vanilla character. Juicy wine. Always one of the best riserva Chiantis out there. Great now but even better with a little more bottle age. Try in 2014.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2009 Chianti Classico Riserva Vigna del Sorbo is impressive. The overtness of the year is nicely balanced by the inherent freshness and acidity of Sangiovese. Hints of tobacco, cedar, licorice and spices are layered into the insistent finish. This is a terrific showing. I very much like the energy, length and focus of the fruit. I can’t wait to see how this develops over the coming years. The Vigna del Sorbo is a bit overlooked in the Fontodi stable, but it is often striking, especially after a few years in bottle. This historic vineyard is planted to 90% Sangiovese and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. The Sorbo has an element of freshness that the Flaccianello doesn’t have. I will not be surprised if over time it enjoys a more gradual and finessed evolution in bottle. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2027.
Rating: 94+ -
Wine Spectator
A dense, almost chunky red, sporting cherry, leather, soy and earth notes. Though firm, with dusty tannins, there's ample fruit for balance. Fresh finish. Best from 2014 through 2022.
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.