Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
From the warmer 2005 vintage, this Riserva Chianti Classico is packed tight with mature aromas of black cherry, cassis, leather, black tobacco and a touch of drying graphite. The wine would pair with cheesy lasagna al forno.
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Wine & Spirits
This wine's plump, plummy fruit is immediately appealing when first poured, feeling soft and rich. The texture lends generosity to sangiovese's mineral tannins without erasing them. Ready to drink with roast squab.
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Wine Spectator
Sweet berry and plum, with a hint of oak barrels on the nose. Full-bodied, round and velvety, with lots of new wood and ripe fruit. Chewy. A powerful version. Best from 2010 through 2014.
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.