Winemaker Notes
Blend: 97% Sangiovese, 3% Canaiolo
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Here's a beautiful bottle from San Giusto a Rentennano that outperforms dozens of wines from the appellation that are priced two or three times higher than this. The organic 2021 Chianti Classico Riserva Le Baròncole is incredibly focused and tight with black fruit and sweet plum. The wine is Sangiovese with a tiny addition of Canaiolo for extra fruitiness and texture. That sense of focus continues to the palate, where fine tannins support generous fruit weight.
-
Vinous
The 2021 Chianti Classico Riserva Le Baròncole is a real head-turner, one of the best versions I have ever tasted. Large-scaled, ample and wonderfully complex, the 2021 has it all. Black fruit, gravel, spice, licorice and incense saturate the palate. There's a kiss of French oak, but it’s better integrated than in most years. Readers should expect an especially broad, full-bodied Baròncole. I loved this from barrel, and I love it today. Fabulous.
-
Wine Spectator
Bursting with cherry, pomegranate and raspberry flavors, this red is juicy and harmonious. Light tannins grip the finish as iron and tobacco elements emerge. This really resonates on the aftertaste. Sangiovese and Canaiolo.
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.