Winemaker Notes
Deep crimson in color, the bouquet is rich, spicy, earthy and amazingly intense, reminiscent of dark-skinned fruit and white pepper. The palate shows great depth, soft tannins, velvety texture, luscious structure, and a long, lingering finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
There's fine depth to the cherry, black currant, pomegranate and mineral flavors, shaded by vanilla and oak spice notes. The structure is well-integrated, with lively acidity and refined, powdery tannins uplifting the finish. Offers excellent length and should stretch out even more in a year or three. Best from 2026 through 2042.
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Vinous
The 2021 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Il Margone is one of the best wines I have tasted from Il Molino di Grace in some time. Rich, layered, and super-expressive, the 2021 is so compelling today. Crushed flowers, dark red-toned fruit, mocha, spice, and a kiss of French oak linger. The 2021 is impeccably done. It spent 18 months in barrique and tonneau, followed by six months in cask.
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James Suckling
Aromas of ripe cherries and red plums with notes of licorice and walnuts. Medium-bodied with good concentration and intensity, showing firm, dusty tannins and vivid acidity. Lingering finish. Drink or hold.
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.