Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
In 2007, Monica Raspi closed up her veterinary clinic and decided to make wine on her family farm in Pomona. The Sangiovese for the 2016 Chianti Classico Riserva is sourced from her family's organic vineyards. The wine opens to black cherry, blackberry and plum, with some mild spice and tobacco on the finish. You can count on the 2016 vintage to deliver linearity, purity and clarity, and this wine sure falls into all three categories. The tannins are polished and silky and will appeal to all of us who love these pure Tuscan flavors. You could pair this wine with a Tuscan pasta classic or even a Fiorentina steak.
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Wine Spectator
Compact, this red isn't revealing all of its charms today. Cherry and rose aromas are confirmed on the palate, along with juniper, mineral and earth accents. Firmly built for a svelte frame, with plenty of intensity on the long finish. Best from 2022 through 2037.
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.