Winemaker Notes
#46 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2021
This wine is produced only in top great vintages, using the finest grapes selected from the San Marcellino vineyard that surrounds the Church of San Marcellino in Monti in Chianti: An area of about 7 hectares where Sangiovese (1.5 hectares of which are 50 years old) are joined by 0.9 hectares of Pugnitello, an old indigenous Tuscan grape that perfectly complements Sangiovese, bringing out its color, structure and aromas. Since 2006 the San Marcellino cuvee has included about 5% Pugnitello. The wine ages for about 24 months in medium toast barriques from Allier.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Chianti Classico’s superb 2016 vintage yielded some excellent wines, and Marco Ricasoli-Firidolfi’s Gran Selezione is among the best we’ve tasted. The wine stands out for its combination of firm structure, elegant texture and vibrant flavors. The fruit tones are dark and plummy, a nod to the six percent of pugnitello in the blend, and the wine unfolds to reveal layers of licorice, tobacco and subtle spice. Fine tannins give shape to those rich flavors, and well-integrated acidity lifts the finish.
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Wine Spectator
A meaty, muscular version, this red displays black cherry, blackberry, tar, leather and iron aromas and flavors, offering a beam of fruit within a tightly wound, vibrant structure. Fine length. Sangiovese and Canaiolo. Best from 2024 through 2045.
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James Suckling
Black cherry, wet earth and crushed stone on both the nose and palate. Medium-bodied with firm, tight tannins and a linear, finely chewy finish. Fresh and tight. From organically grown grapes. Another year may help it open. Try from 2023.
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.