Mazzei Chianti Classico Riserva Ser Lapo 2018
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James
Suckling - Vinous
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Robert
Parker -
Wilfred
Wong
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Ruby red color with violet nuances. On the nose, bright aromas of fresh cherries mingle with notes of thyme and a subtle smoky character. Bright acid structure providing a lively quality. Cranberry, raspberry, and red cherry dominate with hints of leather, cedar, and cocoa powder. Some earthiness in the finish and ripe soft tannins.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Black cherry, bark and earth on the nose with some dark-mushroom character. It’s full-bodied with very soft tannins and a juicy, savory finish. Wet-earth and forest-floor character comes through nicely at the finish. Drink or hold.
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Vinous
The 2018 Chianti Classico Riserva Ser Lapo is a powerful, wild wine. Crushed flowers, game, herbs and licorice notes give the 2018 its distinctly savory, earthy personality. Brooding in feel, the 2018 will benefit from a few years in bottle. Most of this fruit comes from Mazzei's Caggio property, the site that informs the new Ipsus wine. In my view, Ser Lapo is the hidden gem in the Mazzei range, and the wine I would most like to drink, if forced to chose just one Chianti Classico in the lineup.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Mazzei 2018 Chianti Classico Riserva Ser Lapo is a plump and fruit-forward wine from a vintage that saw alternating moments of cool and hot that caressed the fruit into a slightly more ripened and softened overall state. This is a mid-weight wine with plenty of dark fruit and blackberry. On second nose, the wine offers savory tones of leather, spice and tar. This darker and heavier approach might do well if paired with game meat or a Tuscan stew of wild boar. Best After 2022
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Mazzei Ser Lapo Chianti Classico Riserva is bright, lively, and lasting on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine offers excellent aromas and flavors of black fruit, licorice, and earth. Enjoy its authenticity with a well-seasoned, oven-roasted pork loin. (Tasted: June 1, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
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For 26 generations, the Mazzei family has been producing benchmark Italian wines from their historic Castello di Fonterutoli estate in Tuscany and more recently in the Maremma, Sicily and the Veneto. The passion, commitment and expertise that goes into these expressive wines is a reflection of the Mazzei’s spirit of innovation and respect for each property’s unique terroir.
Since the 1400’s the Mazzei’s have been producing wine; making it one of the oldest running Italian companies - of any kind! Their ancestry is closely woven not only into Tuscany’s winemaking history, but as well as to this venerated region’s political and cultural past. The notable merchant, Ser Lapo Mazzei, is credited for authoring the first official document mentioning “Chianti wine” (December 16, 1398). Years later, Philip Mazzei, winemaker, political thinker and friend of Thomas Jefferson, is credited for influencing another historic document, whose philosophical writings on equality of man served as inspiration for the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
Four beautiful properties make up the Mazzei portfolio. Castello di Fonterutoli in historic Chianti Classico, Tuscany remains the historic home of Mazzei. An enthusiasm for discovery has led to the purchase of Belguardo in the Maremma, which borders the Tuscan coast and Zisola in Noto, Sicily. Giovanni Mazzei has recently taken over his family’s estate, Villa Marcello, in the Veneto, For six generations the Mazzei property at Castello di Fonterutoli has been family-owned and operated; which is also the case since the establishment of Belguardo, Zisola and Villa Marcello. Lapo Mazzei manages as Chairman, along with his sons Filippo and Francesco, both CEOs. The newest generation, Giovanni Mazzei, represents the 26th generation, poised to continue in the family’s footsteps of producing innovative and expressive wines from Central Tuscany, the Maremma, Sicily and the Veneto.