Winemaker Notes
Distinct aromas of small red berries including Marasca cherries preserved in alcohol, accompanied by hints of chocolate berries and well-integrated woody notes. It is full-bodied, warm and potent in the mouth with a striking tannic texture that makes the wine very drinkable and elegant. Its good acidity and minerality guarantee a fresh, long finish. The wine has only been stabilized using natural methods and has only undergone very wide filtration; this can lead, especially after long bottle aging, to a natural sediment that does not affect the wine’s sensory profile.
Serve with stewed meat, game and mature cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Notable for its supple texture and linear profile, this vibrant red features cherry, black currant, earth and tobacco flavors, with dense, resonant tannins underlying it all. A stony, minerally accent joins the lingering finish.
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James Suckling
Lots of cherries and coffee beans, but also chewy, relatively strong tannins. Medium-to full-bodied, it shows pretty ripe fruit in the center palate, yet remains reserved on the finish. This needs a year or two to soften and come together. Try after 2020.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Tenuta di Capraia 2016 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Effe 55 shows some age and evolution with tarry spice and campfire ash that add to the grounded medium to almost full-bodied approach of the wine. In fact, this Chianti Classico plays its best cards in terms of texture and mouthfeel.
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.