Winemaker Notes
Roast red meats, braised meats, ripened cheese.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is as solid as a rock with incredible structure and power. Full body, intense structure and wonderful depth of fruit. What a long, long finish. here. Superb. Amazing wine. Better in 2016.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From an exceptionally balanced vintage, the 2010 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione exhibits a ripe and fruit-forward style with dark color extract and a generous stream of aromas. Dark fruit, spice, toasted espresso bean and grilled herbs all play supporting roles to the bouquet. But this wine is not all about brawn and power. There’s a subtle sense of austerity here that gives the wine a touch of extra sophistication and class. It could work for either near- or medium-term consumption.
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.