Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is a great Chianti Classico with an overload of floral aromas, such as violets and rose petals, in addition to blackcurrants, tar, asphalt and vanilla. Full-bodied but very subtle and restrained on the palate with a finely woven web of tannins and a long, taut finish. Drink in 2023.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Extremely fine tuned and precise, the 2016 Chianti Classico Riserva Gallule offers depth and a long succession of delicate nuances with dark fruit, balsam herb, licorice and freshly tilled potting soil. This is complete and beautiful wine executed in a very classic style. This wine is all about the smaller details, best accentuated with a Porcini mushroom risotto. The Sangiovese grapes are harvested from an ancient terraced vineyard in Castellina in Chianti.
Rating: 95+ -
Decanter
Nose of dried herbs, red cherries, raspberries and cream give way to an intense, slightly darker-fruited palate, showing chocolate and a savoury mushroom note.
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.