Winemaker Notes
Luminous ruby red. Scents of cherry, raspberry, and sweet violets. Dry on the palate, showing subtle tannins and a fresh, crisp acidity.
At its best when partnered with antipasti, full-flavored first courses, and most red meats.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Cranberries, strawberries and orange peel with fennel and sage and a mineral edge of just crushed rock are on the nose and then are repeated on the palate, where they come together in an elegant balance against firm but polished tannins and vibrant acidity.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Made with 80% Sangiovese, 10% Colorino and 10% Pugnitello, the 2021 Chianti Classico proves to be a versatile wine and a fundamentally food-friendly choice with lots of purple and blue fruits with hints of fragrant wild rose. The wine supports medium weight and lots of fresh acidity to cut through cream or butter-based cooking ingredients. This is a huge production of half a million bottles.
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James Suckling
A fresh and delicious Chianti Classico with a lightness and crunchiness. Sour cherries and light orange blossom. Light and pretty. Drink now.
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.