Chianti & Chianti Classico

Back in 2007, the winery embarked on the cru project with the aim of emphasising the natural elegance and vitality of Sangiovese and the essential value of what the Latins call the "genius loci". What began as an experiment and a challenge evolved into years of constant but calculated work to identify the best vineyards in Chianti Classico. The best winemaking and ageing methods were then applied to enhance the particular influence of the origin on the texture, flavour and character of the wine.

Since summer 2023, Chianti Classico producers have been allowed to include the eleven additional geographical indications (UGA = unità geografiche aggiuntive) introduced in 2021 on the labels of the top Gran Selezione category. For Chianti Classico winegrowers, it is a logical step to produce wines that reflect the area in which they were produced as authentically as possible. And customers can thus deepen their knowledge of the relationship between the wines and their region of origin - a real added value.

At 618 metres above sea level, where the air already carries the coolness of the mountains and the view sweeps over the entire Chianti Valley, lies one of the most venerable vineyards in Tuscany: Coltassala – once born as a rebellious Supertuscan, today ennobled as Chianti Classico Gran Selezione from the UGA Radda, embodies the revolution and evolution of Tuscan viticulture like no other wine. In 1980, Federica Mascheroni Stianti's family took the plunge: when the DOC system was still forcing Trebbiano and Malvasia into Chianti, they pressed a pure Sangiovese wine up here in small barriques based on the French model instead of the traditional large Slavonia barrels. What was then still misjudged as Vino da Tavola heralded a new era. Today, with the new UGA rules of Chianti Classico (Unita Geografiche Aggiunte, in Germany one would say Lage, in France Cru), Coltassala is finally finding its well-deserved home – as a Gran Selezione from the Radda geographical unit, which stands for the most extreme and elegant expressions of Chianti Classico. The altitude gives the 2021 vintage that characteristic freshness that makes Radda so unique – despite the warm weather, the wine retains its crystalline acidity and vibrancy.

The Vigna del Sorbo vineyard is located directly in front of the winery. The south-west facing vineyard with Galestro soils covers 8 hectares at an altitude of 450 metres. The Riserva was first produced in 1985 and has been labelled Gran Selezione since the 2010 vintage.

Here it is, the impressive first Gran Selezione from Riecine, showing more grace than muscle and delivering a Riecine-typical and very precise Burgundian interpretation of the Sangiovese grape.

In 1985, Giovanni Manetti made a momentous and ingenious decision: the best plots of the Vigna del Sorbo, those south-west-facing slopes in front of the winery at 450 metres above sea level, were to be given their own voice. Here, where slate and the characteristic Galestro slopes above the clay characterise the geological signature of the Conca d'Oro, the estate's oldest Sangiovese vines have been rooted since 1963. What began as a Riserva with ten per cent Cabernet Sauvignon has become a monument to the art of pure Sangiovese over the years.

There are moments in the history of Italian viticulture that shine like beacons through time. 1962 was one such moment when Fabrizio Bianchi, driven by a vision and surrounded by the scepticism of his contemporaries, made a decision that would change Chianti Classico forever. He dared to vinify the grapes from a single vineyard separately: Il Poggio. What began as an experiment became a revolution – the first cru of Chianti Classico was born. Il Poggio – "the hill" – lies in the heart of Monsanto like a natural amphitheatre, surrounded by wild cypresses, juniper bushes and strawberry trees. Here, on the characteristic Galestro soils between 280 and 320 metres above sea level, the Sangiovese vines have driven their roots deep into the slate-like rock over the decades. These soils – a gift of geological history – give the wine the mineral depth and structural complexity that have made Il Poggio a living legend.

1172 – the year in which Volpaia is first mentioned in documents. A small, fortified borgo on a hill north of Radda in Chianti, built as a border fortress between Florence and Siena. Today it is a jewel of peace and beauty and one of the most historic wine villages in Tuscany. Here, where soldiers once stood guard, the Stianti-Mascheroni families now press their grapes within the medieval walls. The bottles mature in the vaults of old churches and almost every cellar contains a tank of organic wine. An entire village dedicated to viticulture. So complete that it becomes poetic again. The Riserva is made from 100% Sangiovese from vineyards between 400 and 600 metres above sea level. One of the highest wineries in the region. Up here, where the air is thin and the nights are cool, Sangiovese develops the elegance and minerality that makes Volpaia so distinctive. Sandstone, clay and sandy-loamy soils with a high proportion of skeleton. Manual harvest in the second half of September, temperature-controlled vinification, then 24 months in French and Slovenian oak barrels.

The grapes for this remarkably Burgundian Gran Selezione come from the single vineyard of the same name in a 2.25-hectare Chianti Classico vineyard, which was planted in 1971 with a density of 3,400 vines per hectare and is south-facing on old terraces. Riecine has leased these plots since the 1980s, and in the 2019 debut vintage, the winery succeeded in acquiring this site, which is one of the best terroirs in the Chianti Classico region. The bottles are numbered and around 4,000 bottles and 50 magnums are bottled each year.

Gaiole lies in the east of Chianti Classico on the border with Arezzo, where the hills are higher, the soil stonier and the climate cooler. San Sano is the highest of Antinori's three new single vineyards: 420 to 450 metres above sea level, on Galestro and Alberese – the characteristic soils that give the Sangiovese grape a precision and tension at this altitude that is not found anywhere else. Antinori acquired San Sano in 2014, the first of the three new vineyards – the gesture of a house that was serious about its return to Chianti Classico. 100% Sangiovese, 5,000 to 6,000 bottles.

Querciabella's Riserva, with an annual production of 10,000 bottles, is a selection of the best lots. It blends fruit from Greve, where the vineyards lie between 350 and 550 metres above sea level, with grapes from the stony high altitudes of Radda and the chalky soils of Gaiole. Tantalising aromas of spring flowers, cranberries and potting soil are accompanied by vanilla and smoke. On the palate, it is polished and pure, with a delicious, tangy acidity and sinewy tannins. As every year, one of the most refined wines of the appellation. SUPERIORE.DE

Since the 2011 vintage, the Riserva Marchese Antinori has been made entirely from grapes from Tenuta Tignanello. As a result, the production volume has decreased and a further leap in quality has been made. Sparkling ruby in colour, with a bouquet of dark wild cherries, graphite, violets and spices. Flowing and round on the palate, very juicy, the French oak adds volume and fullness. SUPERIORE.DE

The Romanesque Pieve di San Marcellino was built in the year 1000. It still stands today – in the middle of the vineyards of Rocca di Montegrossi, seven kilometres south of Gaiole, at the southern tip of the Chianti Classico. The vineyard bears its name. And the vines that surround it are older than most of the appellations that appear on labels today. Marco Ricasoli-Firidolfi is a descendant of Baron Bettino Ricasoli – the "Iron Baron" who defined the formula for Chianti Classico in the 19th century. Not as a marketing idea, but as a genetic link to this soil. The vineyard has been certified organic since 2010 and has been planted with Pugnitello alongside Sangiovese since 2006 – an autochthonous Tuscan grape variety that was almost extinct in the 1980s. Pugnitello deepens the colour, thickens the structure and sharpens the profile of the Sangiovese grape. Hand-picked, separate fermentation of both varieties on wild yeasts in upright wooden tanks, 24 months in Allier barriques and tonneau, bottled unfiltered. Only produced in outstanding vintages – the 2020 is one of them.

A name that breathes history: since 2011, the grapes for Marchese Antinori have come exclusively from the vineyards of Tenuta Tignanello – the legendary location that lies at the heart of Chianti Classico between the gentle hills of the Greve and Pesa valleys. Here, where the Medici once walked and where the Antinori family has been realising its visionary wine philosophy since 1850, one of the purest interpretations of Sangiovese thrives on stony limestone soils. The 2022 vintage tells of a summer of extremes – little rain until August, hot spells in June and July. But the old vines proved resilient: even budding, regular flowering, perfectly ripe grapes for harvest. In the winery's cellars, winemaking was carried out with classic precision: gentle destemming, gentle pressing, one week of fermentation in stainless steel tanks. Ten days of maceration using gentle methods – an extraction that combines intensity with elegant, supple tannins. Natural acid degradation until the end of the year, then twelve months of ageing in French and Hungarian oak barrels, followed by a further twelve months of bottle ageing before release.

26 generations, since 1385 – no other winery in the wine world can boast such an uninterrupted history. And yet the Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva label is not a museum, but a living commitment: since the 2011 vintage, exclusively from the vineyards of Tenuta Tignanello, the estate between the Greve and Pesa river valleys that has shaped the Tuscan wine history of the 20th century more than any other part of Chianti Classico. 319 hectares, of which 165 hectares are planted with vines – predominantly Sangiovese, supplemented by small proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

In the history of the Campolungo vineyard, thousands of years of Tuscan viticultural culture merge with visionary dedication to perfection. These historic terraces between 420 and 580 metres above sea level were already recognised as exceptional by the Romans and have been considered one of the cradles of fine Chianti since the 19th century. The 2018 tells the story of a special climatic favour: after a hot, dry summer, the extreme altitude of Lamole preserved the crystalline freshness that makes Campolungo one of the most exceptional single vineyards in Tuscany. Pure Sangiovese from hand-picked grapes of exceptional aromatic intensity. After careful hand-picking and visual selection of the best grapes, a two-week fermentation with skin contact takes place in traditional wooden vats. Thirty months of ageing in oak barrels, supplemented by a small proportion in French barriques, create a wine of multi-layered complexity and elegance.

This wine from the single vineyard of the same name is probably the most opulent of the house's selection line. On the nose, an almost brushstroke-wide presence of ripe fruit, spices and hints of crushed rock. On the palate, impressive suppleness, complexity and richness, plus a whole bouquet of dark fruit flavours flanked by firm, structured tannin. The Merlot content gives it additional depth and power. SUPERIORE.DE

Two kilometres north of the medieval village of Ama, stone terrace walls rise up like silent witnesses to a time when human hands began to shape nature. Here, where the rows of vines follow the course of the sun in a perfect north-south orientation, lies the origin of one of Tuscany's most mysterious wines. La Casuccia – a name that comes from a small house that once stood among the vines and today lends its name to one of Italy's most extraordinary Gran Selezione. It was Marco Pallanti who, with scientific precision and intuitive intuition, identified those parcels of land that possessed exceptional soils and microclimates. The first vintage of La Casuccia was produced in 1985 – a visionary cuvée from three separate parcels of Sangiovese and Merlot, which was the first of its kind to lay the foundations for the cru concept in Chianti Classico.

The Gran Selezione from the single vineyard Bellavista is rich and dark with aromas of wild cherry, smoke, liquorice, menthol and tobacco. Extremely attractive and rich on the palate, firm tannins form the backbone of this virile, potent wine. SUPERIORE.DE

The Gran Selezione from the single vineyard Bellavista is rich and dark with aromas of wild cherry, smoke, liquorice, menthol and tobacco. Extremely attractive and rich on the palate, firm tannins form the backbone of this virile, potent wine. SUPERIORE.DE

Marco Pallanti, young and driven by a vision, let his gaze wander over the Bellavista Valley for the first time in 1978 and realised: This was where the benchmark for great Chianti Classico wines would be set. What he saw was more than just landscape – it was the promise of a terroir that was destined to make history. It is this exposed location, this special positioning high above the valley, that has always given the wine its extraordinary concentration and complexity. The soil tells a story of millions of years: gravelly soil interspersed with clay and limestone, a rock called Galestro and Albarese, which creates the ideal conditions for Sangiovese here like nowhere else. There are 22 plots in total, terraced and carefully mapped, but in the best vintages it is plots 1 to 19 with Malvasia Nera and the Sangiovese plots 21 and 22 that form the heart of this Selezione.