Winemaker Notes
Badia a Passignano is ruby red in color. Intense on the nose with notes of ripe red fruit, liqueur cherries, and sour cherries together with citrusy hints of red oranges and delicate floral sensations of lavender. Its complex bouquet is completed by sweet notes of vanilla and pleasant spicy aromas of cloves and leather. On the palate the mouth filling entry is sustained by silky, vibrant tannins than accompany a lengthy finish, persistent and sapid, with a pleasant aftertaste of bitter cocoa and citrus.
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
A saturated dark magenta-ruby color, the 2020 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Badia A Passignano is well layered with aromas of fresh leather, black cherry liqueur, vanilla bean, black licorice, and forest floor. Full-bodied without weight, it is well-balanced and very elegant with ripe fruit lasting long on the palate with ripe tannins that are well integrated, fresh underpinnings and saline, with notes of black tea on the finish. It is a lovely ripe wine, with a hint of game, that will mature slowly over the next 15-20 years. It strikes a wonderful balance of polish and purity.
-
James Suckling
This is really velvety and open with a caressing texture that entices with every sip. Medium-bodied with gorgeous brightness and complexity. So hard not to drink now. So why wait, but will age beautifully.
-
Wine Spectator
Laced with pure flavors of cherry and raspberry and shaded by a spicy oak element, this bright, balanced red is elegant yet reveals fine intensity. Light tannins line the lingering finish as iron and tobacco notes join in. Best from 2026 through 2042.
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.