Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesBlack-cherry and orange-peel aromas and flavors. Some lead pencil and slate, too. It’s medium-bodied with fine tannins and firm acidity, which adds verve and tension to the wine. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
A bright, succulent style, this exudes cherry, strawberry, earth and tobacco aromas and flavors, with spicy character. Shows vibrant structure and balance, with a lingering finish. Sangiovese and Merlot.
Pure and beautifully integrated, the 2020 Chianti Classico is finessed with raspberry coulis, licorice candy, and crushed violets. It has a silky mouthfeel within a medium to slightly fuller body, with perfectly ripe black cherry, and its floral perfume lasts on the finish. This is a wonderful and polished expression hailing from the village of Radda. Rating: 92+
The certified organic Volpaia 2020 Chianti Classico is a terrific base wine that offers clean fruit flavors and an easy-drinking style. Value is one of the key identifying factors in this appellation, yet this fact often goes overlooked. Sangiovese (blended here with 10% Merlot) offers versatile wines with plenty of sweet cherry, spice and blueberry preserves. Best After 2022
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.
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.