Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Dried flowers and dark berries come through on the nose. Full body, silky tannins and a bright and fruity finish. Crisp and very, very clean. Almost steely. Very well done this year. Drink now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Chianti Classico is a delicious wine with a very clean entry to the palate. The wine makes its mark thanks to shapely aromas of dark fruit, dried cherry and plum. The quality of the fruit is evident in the classic 2013 vintage. Clean acidity and bright berry flavors move towards the palate where they are both refreshing and invigorating. This is a great wine to pair with grilled meat or flatbread with smoked bacon or sausage.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of wild berry, violet, rose and Mediterranean herb lead the nose of this easy drinking, polished red. The juicy palate doles out blackberry, black cherry, white pepper and star anise while bright acidity and supple tannins offer support.
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.