Winemaker Notes
Ruby red color. Enveloping and sweet aromas of cherry, violet, tobacco, vanilla, black chocolate and Mediterranean spices. The fruity, mineral and spicy tone is unmistakable on the nose. On the palate tactile sensations of fullness, richness and softness. Ripe red fruit and spices in a long embrace of finely toasted notes give this wine great taste elegance.
Pair with rich and spicy dishes, game, stews, truffles, aged cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This has a spiced character with notes of red berries, toasted walnuts and wet forest floor. Medium- to full-bodied, polished and meaty with fine tannins and velvety texture. Chocolaty finish. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
The nose gusts with intensely savory, almost smoky aromas of old leather, flint, underbrush, dark chocolate, cardamom and burnt sage. The palate balances that weighty, textured element with tangy blackberries, top soil and graphite, along with a pop of acid and pepper on the finish that gives contour to substantial, clay-like tannins.
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.