Winemaker Notes
Chianti Classico Riserva Le Baroncole is made from Sangiovese and Canaiolo grapes. The initial stages of its production are the same as for their Chianti Classico. Then the wine is aged in cask and barrels of French for a period varying from 16 to 20 months, according to the vintage. It is then bottled and stored for a further six months. Le Baroncole is a wine of long ageing potential.
Blend: 97% Sangiovese, 3% Canaiolo
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I remain firmly impressed by this beautiful wine made with 97% Sangiovese and 3% Canaiolo. The certified organic 2019 Chianti Classico Riserva Le Baròncole is now offered at a significantly lower price than I have seen in past vintages. However, the wine's quality remains exceptional, with an exacting or deeply etched quality, strong lines and careful construction. The architecture of the wine is exceptional, leading to aromas of bright fruit, dried flowers and spice. The vineyard soils see schistous galestro, limestone alberese and tuffaceous clay sediment. This is a production of 16,136 bottles and a few magnums. This is seriously worth your attention.
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Wine Spectator
A muscular red, with beefy tannins and vivid acidity framing plum, blackberry, eucalyptus and tar flavors. The balance leans toward the tannins now, yet this has plenty of fresh fruit. Sangiovese and Canaiolo. Best from 2026 through 2043.
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.