Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A rich, succulent red, this boasts cherry, raspberry, rose, graphite and earth aromas and flavors. Pure, with vivid acidity and refined tannins lending support. Balanced and long, with a mineral edge on the aftertaste. Sangiovese and Pugnitello. Drink now through 2040.
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Wine & Spirits
The deep color and rich, dark fruit tones of this wine are typical of the open, sun-drenched exposures found in Monti, the southernmost area of the Gaiole UGA. San Marcellino is Marco Ricasoli’s oldest vineyard, some of the vines planted in 1966. The wine’s dark cherry and black-raspberry flavors are concentrated and pure, deepened by a small percentage of pugnitello and girded by firm mineral tannins and cool notes of graphite.
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James Suckling
This has an attractively complex nose of dried rosemary, porcini mushrooms, sour cherries and spice box. Orange peel, too. Tangy on the palate, with a full body and polished tannins. Sharp acidity. From organically grown grapes.
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.