Winemaker Notes
Ruby red color with shades of garnet. Fruity nose of sour cherries, blackberries and ripe cherries, tobacco and spices. On the palate, forest fruits with soft and bright tannins and a licorice finish.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
Vignamaggio's 2017 Chianti Classico Riserva Gherardino is a powerful, dense wine. Bright red berry fruit, crushed flowers and spice build nicely in the glass. This deep, layered Chianti Classico Riserva has quite a bit to offer. I would give it a year or two in bottle to soften. I especially like the energy here.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2017 Chianti Classico Riserva Gerardino is forward with medicinal herbs, licorice, ripe cherry, and cinnamon, and although it is fresh, there are no harsh edges in this medium framed wine. Offering fine tannins and an elegant mouthfeel, with raspberry seed, cedar, and dried orange peel, this is another pure and energetic wine from Vignamaggio.
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Decanter
Nice amount of red fruit character with hint of herbs. Zesty and delicate in the mouth with refined tannins and fresh acidity.
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.