Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A fluid, cherry-infused red, with harmony and a vibrant structure lending immediate appeal. Nonetheless, the solid tannins suggest this will age well. Leather, earth and iron notes round out the flavor profile. Best from 2020 through 2035.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: When I look for Chianti Classicos, I am always the happiest when I find those that show Old World reverence combined with New World juiciness. The 2015 Il Molino di Grace SoloSangiovese personifies that combination. TASTING NOTES: This wine is generous, flavorful, and true to the best in this category. Its aromas and flavors of ripe red fruit, slightly rustic dried leaves should pair it well with pasta Bolognese. (Tasted: June 15, 2018, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Chianti Classico is a classic expression from a great vintage. The wine delivers balanced and steady aromas with bright cherry, pressed blackberry, violets and moist earth. It is true to the taste profile you should expect from this historic Sangiovese-based appellation in Central Italy. The finish reveals bright acidity and accessible primary fruit. This is a mid-weight effort with a long and polished finish. With 80,000 bottles produced, this is an excellent value option.
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.