The typically stony and gravelly galestro south by southwest terraced vineyard at 350m sits in the heart of the Greve Valley. Its sangiovese (with 10 pert cent merlot) resides on the extracted, modern and expressive shore, of black cherry and cabernet sauvignon-esque Cassis meets Ribena. A deep inhalant with mint, clove and menthol repetition. Some pleasantries and expressiveness exist gainfully  on the palate. Quite bright and full of flavour, savour and grip. Really ripe and get me sangiovese.  Drink 2018-2021.  Tasted February 2017  #terreno @terrenovino  #fattoriaterreno

Savignola Paolina Chianti Classico 2014, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

This sings of of so many Chianti Classico sweet aromatics, ripe red strawberry and raspberry, more palate sweetness and so very easy on the tension. One of the easier, simpler and quietly pleasurable ‘14s, not just from Greve in Chianti but the whole of the territory. Tartness and sour-edged acidity are complimentary if far from elevating. Drink 2017-2019.  Tasted February 2017  #savignolapaolina  Savignola Paolina  savignolapaolina

Vallone de Cecione Chianti Classico 2014, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

In Panzano, this organic and biodynamic Chianti Classico is the old, wise and profoundly aromatic sangiovese. It’s also built with tidy structure, due in part no doubt to the canaiolo inclusion from a producer that treats the ancient variety with great respect. Their varietal canaiolo is a bright, elegant and architectural wine. Even 10 per cent canaiolo inclusion here lends credible accent and catalyst support. This CC strands ripeness on account of proportion with beneficial elevated acidity melting into richness. It offers the whole package in 2014. Drink 2018-2024.   Tasted February 2017  #ValloneDiCecione  #vallonedicecione  @vallonedicecione

Villa Calcinaia Chianti Classico 2014, Docg Tuscany, Italy (Agent, $25.95, WineAlign)

From a challenging and low-yielding vintage that took away more than it gave. The varied renditions of Chianti Classico are all over the map so it’s a revelation to come across Sebastiano Capponi’s calm and beautiful ’14 life. His is a sangiovese that was allowed to just be itself, aromatic to savoury, immune from the pressures placed upon by vintage and expectation. Calcinaia’s is a Greve in Chianti of roses, violets, more amenability than most ‘14s and without any real bother from the barrel. Quite pure with very mature sangiovese flavours, circulating and by extension from natural acidity. The length is exceptional for annata. Drink 2018-2022.  Tasted February 2017  @villacalcinaia  @Nicholaspearce_  villacalcinaia  nicholaspearcewines  @calcinaia  Nicholas Pearce

Chianti Classico DOCG 2013

Bibbiano Chianti Classico 2013, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (168286, $23.95, WineAlign)

A rich liquere, weight and warmth define this sangiovese from Castellina in Chianti by Tommaso and Federico Marrocchesi Marzi. While the old school leather, cherries and steeping liquor are in line with many Brunello this is pure Chianti Classico and not Riserva. The clarity and purity of fruit make that determination even if the wine is warm to mulled in feeling. Will settle a bit and develop its mushroom, truffle and forest floor nuances sooner rather than later. For fans of bold CC and the way it can be thought as has to be. Drink 2018-2022.  Tasted January 2017  @bibbianowines  VineWhys Wine Experts  @tenutacarobbio  bibbianowines

Il Molino Di Grace Chianti Classico 2013, Docg Tuscany, Italy (85209, $19.95, WineAlign)

Nine months later so provocative and round, still imbued of the deep pulpier purple Il Molino di Grace hue with ruby tinges. Floral but not bursting, warm, in control and easy. Manages fruit purity and then by extension, the grip from 100 per cent sangiovese. Now gelling into a liqueur typical of ’13, smooth and rapidly developing into a multi-faceted sip. A drink earlier in full enjoyment vintage.  Last tasted February 2017

The 2013 point blank sangiovese Chianti Classico is a softer, rounder version of its normale self, with less spice and dust and as a matter of course, from double the output. A dreamy downy growing season saw to 100,000 bottles and each are so eminently drinkable. There is a soil in there that seeps through because of the vintage, that combination of marl and limestone known locally as galestro and so while the concentration is wontedly in measure to 2012, it is ultimately just a matter of differing result. One wine’s pale is another one’s edge. This ’13 will present for immediate pleasure while ’12 spends one more year coming into view. Drink 2016-2019.  Tasted May 2016  @Ilmolinodigrace   Il Molino Di Grace  Frontier Wine Merchants  ilmolinodigrace

Fattoria La Presura Chianti Classico 2013, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

La Presura’s Greve in Chianti is indeed under pressure sangiovese with volatility and orange zest all over the nose. This is microbial big time, with nothing left to show on the palate, save perhaps some old raspberry and a bite into a brick wall. Drink 2017.   Tasted February 2017  @www.lapresura.it  #fattorialapresura

Ormanni Chianti Classico 2013, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (Agent, WineAlign)

Ormanni’s is Castellina in Chianti sangiovese of such a beautiful beginning, a demurred, soft and kind-hearted one. Pure red berry fruit and a downy disposition. The palate is less so, with some deep liqueur lost to the drift. Good acidity and grip though in the end a bit commercial and simple so like the Riserva ’10 from a similar vintage, not the finest value around. Drink 2017-2018.  Tasted February 2017  #ormanni  Rogers & Company  #ormanni

Villa Calcinaia Chianti Classico 2013, Docg Tuscany, Italy (Agent, $25.95, WineAlign)

Chianti Classico 2013 is a Greve in Chianti by-product of what winemaker Conte Sebastiano Capponi will refer to as a cooler vintage. Elongated ripening was trespassed by early September rain so harvest was delayed. Capponi’s tredici Annata is a demurred and soft one, as if the low-lying cloud-cover created a protective environmental layer to keep the perfume of sangiovese perfectly intact and now omnipresent on the aromatics. This is textured CC of a gentle touch and round acidity, pretty, feminine and downy. Fans of the scuola femminile style will live and breathe this in for its first few years. Drink 2017-2020.  Tasted February 2017  @villacalcinaia  @Nicholaspearce_  villacalcinaia  nicholaspearcewines  @calcinaia  Nicholas Pearce

Villa di Geggiano Chianti Classico 2013, Docg Tuscany, Italy (Agent, $35.95, WineAlign)

Villa di Geggiano’s 2013 Annata had only been in bottle one week at the time of tasting so kudos to its confidence, stage presence and all around acumen to show this well. The richness of fruit in this Siena and proximate Castelnuovo Berardenga (Vignone di Geggiano) sangiovese is ushered forth by 18 months in (500L plus 10 per cent new 225L) French barrels. A minor (three to five) per cent augment of cabernet sauvignon distills lush rounding though aromatically speaking this still sits in a state of quiet demure. Geggiano has come a long way since I first visited the estate in 1995. Brothers Alessandro and Andrea Boscu Bianchi Bandinelli, his son Gregorio and partner Malcolm Caplan have led the 16th century estate from a time when wine production was mostly personal and parochial to fashioning Chianti Classico and IGT of international ability. Certified organic and fast forward thinking practices such as the use of dry ice during pressing brings cold temperature freshness to CC, less oxidation and as a result, lower sulphur usage too. This is really grippy sangiovese, fine spun, pure and full bodied-wood spice structured. It’s also gentle and very representative of the Ponte e Bozzone terroir. Geology, earth, time and place. Lovely. Drink 2019-2027.  Tasted February 2017  @VilladiGeggiano  @BarrelSelect  villa_di_geggiano  andreaboscu  barrelselect  @VilladiGeggiano  @barrelselectinc

Villa Trasqua Chianti Classico 2013, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (Agent, $19.95, WineAlign)

Trasqua’s from the Hulsbergen brothers (Alan and Sven) out of an idyllic, naturally rippling and undulating Castellina in Chianti bowl is 100 per cent sangiovese. I have to admit to fully agreeing with Sven when he tells me “you can drink this with red sauce.” I did in fact follow him up on this and tasted it alongside one prepared by him at the estate. The round, soft yet structured CC was, for the vintage and the pasta a perfect match. It’s that simple and you should try it, on a Monday night, as we did, in Chianti Classico, or anywhere else. This is traditional with its tart and edgy red fruit and some tannin. More than that is its smoke and smoulder, coming as it has from eight months in big barrels, eight more in concrete and finally, steel. Drink 2017-2019.  Tasted February 2017   #VillaTrasqua   @tenutavillatrasqua  @HULSI_II  Frontier Wine Merchants  villatrasqua

Chianti Classico DOCG 2012

Castell’in Villa Chianti Classico 2012, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (SAQ, 908228, $21.80, WineAlign)

A 100 per cent  Castelnuovo Berardenga sangiovese with floral entry that waltzes in with really pretty albeit traditional red sour fruit aromatics and then stops for all the room to stare. The palate tells me this is no lightweight as it is the terroir and the soil herein that really speaks. It’s a calcareous clay, a red clay perhaps with some variegation. This is old school, firm and decisive CC. It is ready and will drink well for another year or two, not beyond mind you so go, now. Drink 2017-2019.   Tasted February 2017  Castell In Villa  Les Importations Olea inc.  marino_castellinvillarestauran

Il Barlettaio Chianti Classico 2012, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

From Radda in Chianti, 100 per cent sangiovese and help back like a student a grade behind to get it just right. Sees 24 months in barriques followed by a further 12 bottle, there is nothing about this I would not refer to as old-school, traditional, classic or otherwise. It’s quite firm and internalized, antithetical to the modern concept of Annata Chianti Classico, layered aromatically upon itself with a distinct note of raspberry, sandalwood and the humidity of the earth. So confident, set to purpose and rich without lingering wood or pressed for impressive impression. There is some natural fruit, soil sweetness and the wood melted, integrated, dissolved and nearly disappeared. The evolutionary process has brought about the right time to be with the sangiovese you love. Drink 2017-2019.  Tasted February 2017  @barlettaio  #ilbarlettaio  ilbarlettaio

Losi Querciavalle Chianti Classico 2012, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (Agent, $19.95, WineAlign)

The vintage and five years have seen to some evolution but the tannins remain and persist, firm, grippy and intense. The personality celebrates many generations of winemaking from the family’s south-facing “Leccino” vineyard, a place of high ground sandstone, plus Galestro and Albarese lower down. Sangiovese and canaiolo see 18 months in 50 hL barrels and in concrete. This is very traditional Chianti Classico of rational barrel influence, natural and poetic, both polemical and persuasive. Incarnadine fruit polished and clashing with mixed soil minerality adds up to a wealth of Chianti Classico riches. Drink 2017-2023.  Tasted February 2017  @Valerialosi  @NaturalVines  @marzia_gallo  valerialosi  @famiglialosi  Valeria Losi  Marzia Gallo

Rocca di Cispiano Chianti Classico La Rocca 2012, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

Located in Castellina in Chianti. Bright and shower curtain volatile and severely old school. One hand will ask for more time but the other will tell you this will all magnify and increase. Extracted but hollow, alora, something went missing here. Drink 2017.  Tasted February 2017  @roccadicispiano  roccadicispiano

Villa Montepaldi Chianti Classico Tagliafune 2012, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

From vines in San Casciano Val Di Pesa this is a lovely demurred and ultra-ripe Chianti Classico with now perhaps the exact amount of optimum time slid beneath its belt. Joins the dark side of the fruit spectrum with some fig, a layer of caramelization, chocolate, balsamic and the beginning soft soy and five-spice. Has seen its fair share of affectation characterized by wood in a big way (barriques it would seem) so you must decide which camp you are from. This is classic sangiovese but recent classic, like 1995-2005 with real citrus pith and bitters on the finish. It’s highly complex but not the cleanest CC in camp. Drink 2017-2019.  Tasted February 2017   @VillaMontepaldi  #VillaMontepaldi  villamontepaldi

Chianti Classico DOCG 2011

Sottol’aia Chianti Classico La Lama 2011, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

Castelnuovo Berardenga. Really pretty inhalant, deep but fresh and certainly with thanks to humidity, balance and delineation in the soil. A combinative excellence met for fruit through earth and into sapidity. There is some older barrel chocolate and a whiff of vanilla in this grown-up juice but all is well where balance is concerned. This comes from winemaking with many tears of expertise, an understanding of the world, trends, reality and what type of CC must be made from this terroir.  Drink 2017-2020.  Tasted February 2017  #SottoLAia  #sottolaia

Solatione Chianti Classico 2011, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

San Casciano Val di Pesa. Firm, perfectly evolved from really pure fruit and lovely texture. acidity continues to manage the striking raspberry resemblance in a dry, really fine-lined, direct and just ever so slightly microbial CC. This is right in that Rioja-CC aged and will continue to age beautifully wheelhouse. Expert classic winemaking. Speaks a true vernacular. Drink 2017-2020.  Tasted February 2017  #solatione  #solatione

Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2014

Castellare Di Castellina Chianti Classico Riserva 2014, Docg Tuscany, Italy (508507, $29.95, WineAlign)

Castellina in Chianti. If you could imagine sangiovese inside a vacuum or whirling with intense speed lost inside a void you might just get a picture of Castellare’s 2014 CCR. Well what you really find is the vintage itself in Riserva form this early in life. To make Riserva from the mountain scaling challenge you had to be more selective with grapes and barrels than almost ever but with so few Riserva quality grapes and certainly no visions of Gran Selezione the Riserva is king. This is buzzing, percolating, spinning in centrifuge. The fruit is markedly intense and the acidity reeling. A piercing Riserva wound with extreme tightness and if overly sour just blame it on the youth. Drink 2019-2024. Tasted February 2017  @CastellareWines  @CastellarediCastellina  @DionysusWines  @DionysusWinesTO  #castellaredicastellina

Castello Di Gabbiano Chianti Classico Riserva 2014, Docg Tuscany, Italy (216309, $22.95, WineAlign)

The difficulties presented by the vintage were determinate in excluding the Gran Selezione Bellezza from production so it is that bottle’s loss that became the Riserva’s gain. The single vineyard’s 2014 yield may not have been stellar but its significance is not lost on the overall Riserva gathering, down 40 per cent in quantity. It is here that we see the expertise of a winemaker like Federico Cerelli, to work with new parameters literally thrown at him by chaos and uncertainty. Less than 18,000 bottles came out of 2014 and the wine saw its expected time in barriques and botti, none of which were new. This is CCR of sangiovese brightness meets firm ’14 grip. The varietal freshness is preserved in ways previous vintages were not. Once again this incumbent year is put on vivid display, befallen to knowing hands and forward thinking minds. The aging potential here is excellent. From San Casciano in Val di Pesa. Drink 2018-2029.  Tasted February 2017  @castgabbiano  @MarkAnthonyWine  castellodigabbiano  markanthonyon  @castellogabbiano  Ivano Reali (Castello Di Gabbiano)

Dievole Chianti Classico Riserva Novecento 2014, Docg Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

So not surprising considering the ripe and rich house style but do not be fooled. The vintage rules and youth is a rebellious and renegade thing. Dievole’s is a meeting of the extracted and the terse but it’s also graced by really sweet and tight, tight-grained tannins. This needs years to unwind and meld its mineral-chalky spice into its formidable structure. Drink 2020-2026. Tasted February 2017  @Dievole  @dievole  dievole

Il Molino Di Grace Chianti Classico Riserva 2014, Docg Tuscany, Italy (382945, $23.95, WineAlign)

Riserva 2014 is certainly positioned further down that democratic line from the Chianti Classico, its hue more variegated with three to four variations of shade and fruit still popping fresh. These two pronto pieces of personality are the hallmarks of the Il Molino di Grace style and singularity. To employ such darker fruit without any compromise to freshness, this is the magic of this place. Iacopo Morganti says there is no magic. “I like to see the colour of the vintage.” It is true, 2014 is one of purple violet fruit so it speaks of a time. As a Riserva it demonstrates guts and creates a shell of protection for itself, sufferable to whoever thinks it may fail to validate the idea of a classic vintage, which it most certainly will turn out to be. Drink 2019-2029.  Tasted February 2017  @Ilmolinodigrace  Il Molino Di Grace  Frontier Wine Merchants  ilmolinodigrace  ilmolinodigrace

Podere La Cappella Chianti Classico Riserva Querciolo 2014, Tuscany, Italy (Agent, $46.95, WineAlign)

The most recent release of Podere La Cappella’s “small oak tree” is a vintage success, as always a sangiovese (90 per cent) and merlot configuration and no other Riserva will ever give such defined perfume and richesse. In this smaller than small crop of a vintage the under-rock current is the galestro and the savoury, here with some spice from increased barrel, though of course no new oak. There is some fine chocolate and there is this sweet defined acidity and tannin. When you taste this side by side by each with the 2012 and the 2013 you begin to note these recurrent themes. The smell of orange skin (and in 2013 it was persimmon) is specific to Querciolo. In the pantheon of CCR this is very refined. Drink 2019-2025.  Tasted February 2017  #poderelacappella  @Ekialdeko  #poderelacappella  Natascia Rossini

Rocca Delle Macie Chianti Classico Riserva Famiglia Zingarelli 2014, Docg Tuscany, Italy (930966, $23.95, WineAlign)

It takes little time to find more ease, balance and immediately agreeable notions from the Zingarelli Castellina in Chianti CCR ’14. This is a wine that belies the vintage and the early to market release. The fruit is very ripe and supported by relatively copacetic acidity and tannin. The intention here is surely geared towards early gratification to imbibe while so many others gather their collective 2014, Chianti Classico Riserva thoughts. Drink 2017-2020. Tasted February 2017  @roccadellemacie  @roccadellemacie  @ProfileWineGrp  Profile Wine Group  roccadellemacie

Villa Calcinaia Chianti Classico Riserva 2014, Docg Tuscany, Italy (Agent, $43.95, WineAlign)

In the low-yielding vintage like 2014 the current state of Villa Calcinaia’s Chianti Classico Riserva shows the signs of a growth stock as opposed to one that is generating lots of cash. This sangiovese is obviously young and not yet telling its Riserva tale, nevertheless I find it quite soothing and cool but really without any herbs or savour (to speak of). Tannins are fine but not so sweet (like ’13) so this wine begs for more time. Its length and it’s quietude will confirm such a request. The return will be generous and a just reward for those who have exercised patience. Drink 2019-2026.  Tasted February 2017  @villacalcinaia  @Nicholaspearce_  villacalcinaia  nicholaspearcewines  @calcinaia  Nicholas Pearce

Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2013

Bibbiano Chianti Classico Riserva Montornello 2013, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (Agent, WineAlign)

Montornello is 100 per cent sangiovese grown on the eponymous northern slope, the one with the variegated soil. Montornello is the (five million years) younger of Bibbiano’s two geologies, a platform of several types of partly calcareous, loose clay; red, yellow, amber and white. As floral as the ’14 annata but more mellow, serious and of a noted confidence. Some barriques are employed but the fruit is not shrouded in any way. Scents of liquorice again, plus graphite, a toasty char, warm tar and some beneficial bitters. Finishes strong, seamless and cool. Drink 2018-2023.  Tasted February 2017   @bibbianowines  VineWhys Wine Experts  bibbianowines  @bibbianowines

Ca’ Di Pesa Chianti Classico Riserva Burrone 2013, Docg Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

Despite reservations or perhaps with great hope from the simplest of labels, like looking for the grail and choosing the least adorned chalice, this is a revelatory 2013 Riserva. So simple, bright and honest. It may have spent Riserva time in barrel but they were certainly large ones and old as the winemakers’s grandparents. What is so special however is the purity and prurient clarity of fruit and even more the way the fruit plays so nicely in the sandbox with the gentle infiltration of Greve in Chianti soil. This has acidity and mild tannin, will age for years without knowledge of its own passage in time or any one knowing any change has taken place, then fade gracefully into the sunset. Drink 2017-2023.  Tasted February 2017  #CaDiPesa  @cadipesa  cadipesa

Capanelle Chianti Classico Riserva 2013, Docg Tuscany, Italy

Reductive, hard and fast Gaiole in Chianti winemaking have shocked the fruit’s system and rendered this nearly paralyzed in its youth. Chalky, tart, grainy and lacking acidity. Will peak and then fade quickly Drink 2017-2018.  Tasted February 2017

Tenuta Carobbio Chianti Classico Riserva 2013, Tuscany, Italy (Agent, $58.95, WineAlign)

For Chianti Classico Riserva the solo performance is 100 per cent sangiovese and just as 2013 must be this grabs you by the olfactory senses with elegant inhalant immediacy. You are immersed straight away into a wine without reserve in the way that the only the purest of Riserva can be. Philanthropic, generous and kind. Even more so and because it is Carobbio, there is no fence to jump over, hoop to hurl through or great wall to climb. Not in aroma and then what follows is palate texture and finally fine-grained tannin. Not even acidity will lash out but rather support, with more kindness. Everything is presented from the start with a wisdom that doesn’t rely on oxidative or cured character. Just elegance. Rich and affirming, for sangiovese and life. Humour this CCR ’13 and wait just one more year, per il rispetto. Drink 2018-2027.  Tasted February 2017  @Tenuta_Carobbio  @apparitionwines  @chianticlassico  @ChiantiClassUSA  @tenutacarobbio  carobbio_wine

Casa al Vento Chianti Classico Riserva Foho 2013, Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

Foho is the “fire” in Tuscany, an organic Chianti Classico Riserva from Gaiole in Chianti and like the ’14 Annata it’s similarly striking, bright, vivid and for 2013, vintage driven. There is a slight musty note to dredge the earth a bit and put this in a dry, simply stated realm. A small percentage of merlot and 18 months in barrel rounds out the edges. A demurred Riserva to be sure. Drink 2017-2019.  Tasted February 2017  @casaalvento  borgocasaalvento  @AgriturismoChiantiCasaAlVento

Castello Di Gabbiano Chianti Classico Riserva 2013, Docg Tuscany, Italy (216309, $22.95, WineAlign)

First and foremost it is the wood, or the lack of wood that stands out in the CCR 2013. It may be observed as a different kind of wood, less polished and more natural but what really wins out is the fruit. The cherries are surfeited by impressed tannin and linger with good tonic for a good length of time. Great restraint shown by winemaker Federico Cerelli. From San Casciano in Val di Pesa. Drink 2018-2024.  Tasted June 2016 and February 2017  @castgabbiano  @MarkAnthonyWine  castellodigabbiano  markanthonyon  @castellogabbiano  Ivano Reali (Castello Di Gabbiano)

Castello Di Paneretta Chianti Classico Riserva 2013, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (Agent, WineAlign)

As sweet, floral and fine on the aromatic scale as there is likely to be found from CCR 2013 and that says something. Raspberry purée spreads all over the nose and continues onto the palate with more sweetness and dusty notes. I sense a higher percentage of canaiolo in this CCR. Likely 10 per cent at least and there’s certainly not anything wrong with that. It’s quite delicious in a savoury dessert kind of way. Very commercial friendly and eminently drinkable CCR from Barberino Val d’Elsa. Drink 2017-2019. Tasted February 2017  @panerettavino  @HalpernWine  agriturismo Castello della Paneretta  @halpernwine  Castello Della Paneretta  halpernwine  #castellodipaneretta

Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva 2013, Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

Monsanto’s Chianti Classico Riserva shows the Barberino Val D’Elsa house is clearly fluent in vintage speak because as much as the annata ’14 is deep, savoury and serious, this ’13 is proportionally and deferentially brighter, richly reasoned and chock full of 13’s amenable energy. The strawberry to raspberry realm is covered and though the architectural design is classic, it’s an ornate style (a.k.a. Baroque). This strutting peacock of a Riserva solicits earlier requests for the proverbial dive in, to be poured early and to be enjoyed. Drink 2018-2022.   Tasted February 2017  @castelmonsanto  castellomonsanto  @castello.dimonsanto

Colle Bereto Chianti Classico Riserva 2013, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (Agent, WineAlign)

Colle Bereto’s is just one of those Chianti Classico Riservas that seem caught in the nether land between shy reservation and greatness. The nose speaks but not yet with what it really wants to say. I’d call it serious but what it really is seems so much more than that. The Radda terroir and the great curving amphitheatre of slopes is what matters, not the barrel or just the talents of a great winemaker, though both offer up respectfully obvious interference. The travel from aromatics to palate with texture and into the stabilizing and configuring components of acidity and tannin are all perfectly aligned. The melting pastille texture and effortless lingering of fruit tells me the stars are aligned, not quite in single-vineyard beneath the ancient monastery of perfect exposure way but a really close and respectful second. I imagine this is about as perfect a vintage for Bernardo Bianchi’s  CCR as there ever has or will be. Drink 2019-2028.  Tasted February 2017  #collebereto  @NokhrinWines  Azienda Agricola Colle Bereto  #colleberetowinery

I Sodo Chianti Classico Riserva 2013, Docg Tuscany, Italy (Agent, $29.95, WineAlign)

I Sodi’s Gaiole in Chianti Riserva is on the volatile and over the top youthful side but you can really get a grip upon the terrific red berry and herbal-savoury accents. Certainly led by raspberry but red currants are quite prevalent. Must admit the palate leaves a fuller and more demanding impression which is always important as opposed to the other way around. The change of gears from accelerated vitesse to grip on the road around turns and into pits is a sign of great Italian design. The finish carries dried fruit and compressed acidity with not overly aggressive tannin. Drink 2018-2022.  Tasted February 2017  Agriturismo Le Trappoline – Azienda Agricola I Sodi

Il Molino Di Grace Chianti Classico Riserva 2013, Docg Tuscany, Italy (382945, $23.95, WineAlign)

A better vintage for Riserva (as it is in Chianti Classico for merlot) because of the warmth and highest available poly-phenolic qualities. A return here to deep purple, Il Molino di Grace’s ’13 Riserva is akin to 2009 (though seemingly more in control of its fruit) and also with thanks somewhat like ’14 Chianti Classico, popping, fresh and with its stark moments. It is necessary to stick around, keep checking the glass and it too will lead you down a sexy, sultry, sumptuous road. Shows signs of 2010 in these flaunting ways, with a forward and upwards trajectory through the notions drawn from its very specific Panzano territory. There is chocolatey richness mixed with driving acidity, because “this is the vintage.” Will live long enough, perhaps developing some exoticism and balsamic and/or mushroom notes after seven or eight years time. Drink 2019-2027.  Tasted February 2017  @Ilmolinodigrace  Il Molino Di Grace  Frontier Wine Merchants  ilmolinodigrace

Il Palagio Di Panzano Chianti Classico Riserva 2013, Docg Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

This services one of the more interesting aromatic entries thus far, not quite exotic but certainly different. It’s partly reduction, genesis and youth but also a certain soil plus some new barrel. Perhaps the most tannic wine tasted all day, this is way, way too young to gain any sense early of. The structural steel and petrified wood components are massive and untouchable, immovable and indestructible. There is great fruit lurking there and that soil, “under the soil, the soil, the soil, yes, deep in the soil.” So wait at least three years before supper’s ready. Drink 2021-2029.  Tasted February 2017  @palagiodipanzano

Le Fonti di Panzano Chianti Classico Riserva 2013, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (Agent, $33.75, WineAlign)

More special organic Panzano sangiovese here from Vicky Schmitt-Vitali for Riserva this time, surely floral and beautiful but also with some vintage heat on the nose. More than brevity; essence or essential oils of and also smoky, charred meat and forest floor in warm sunlight. Big bright, naturally curated red, chewy, extremely chewy, some chalky substance but nearly liquified, plenty of acidity and so very Panzano. The Galestro runs through this like a beam of laser light. Really airtight example of modern CCR without resorting to the barrel’s swath or crème. Drink 2018-2025.  Tasted February 2017  @LeFontiPanzano  Fattoria Le Fonti – Panzano  @TheVine_RobGroh  @thevineto  poderelefonti

Melini Chianti Classico Riserva Vigneti La Selvanella 2013, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

From southwest facing,  mainly alberese soils on estate vineyards in the commune of Radda in Chianti, this is a youthful, full-mouthful of rich and barrel-influenced sangiovese, but the fruit is decidedly red and chewy, not soft and chocolate creamy.  This has plenty of monolith coating tannin and needs two years to integrate, including the beneficial bitters. Drink 2019-2024.  Tasted February 2017

Montefioralle Chianti Classico Riserva 2013, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

The Brett monster has come to play. The nose is all volatility mixed with deep red fruit and variegated clay. The palate is swathed in texture, some bitter chocolate and intensity, merging to join the volatile acidity. Time may take both by the horns and settle the merging beast. Character abounds but just how much can you take? From Greve in Chianti.  Drink 2019-2024.  Tasted February 2017  #montefioralle  Montefioralle Winery  Castello Di Montefioralle

Fattoria Nunzi Conti Chianti Classico Riserva 2013, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

Like the 2015 Chianti Classico from San Casciano in Val di Pesa tasted before, the Fattoria Nunzi Conti CCR is a just, beautifully floral and gingerly aromatic sangiovese with the faintest whiff of toast and smoulder. A sumptuously textured red berry sangiovese with great acidity, bright and zinging, followed by the kind of calcareous-chalky texture that recalls red citrus fruits and a red bleed of rock from clay. This will last a long time. It has both the fruit and the stuffing. Drink 2019-2028. Tasted February 2017  #NunziConti  @famiglianunzicont  Antonio Nunzi Conti

Ormanni Chianti Classico Riserva Borro Del Diavolo 2013, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (435149, $42.95, WineAlign)

Borro Del Diavolo, “The Devil’s Gully” is a stunner in 2013, of very ripe and bright red fruit, some tart to note on the nose intertwined with tang. As before it’s a Riserva of really persistent ambition and large-scale balance, not to mention massive tannic structure. It succeeds in carrying all of its massive moving parts together, thanks in large part to the generosity and in turn, the mimic of the vintage. Not a CCR for the immediate gratification seeker nor the faint of sangiovese heart. Let it rest.  Drink 2020-2026.  Tasted February 2017  #ormanni  Rogers & Company

Querciabella Chianti Classico Riserva 2013, Docg Tuscany, Italy (Agent, WineAlign)

This Riserva picks up right where the ’13 normale left you hanging and wishing for more. As is so often the case when it can be excellent CC but disappointing, or at least, not quite meeting high expectations from CCR. This Querciabella carries the same pure fruit but with another layer of concentration and purity. Where it really excels is in a combinative and almost but not quite too serious combative struggle between texture and structure. The acidity is red tapioca pearly fine and the tannins ridiculously fine. So appreciative of this Burgundian-style, Beaune winemaking for sangiovese. Certainly Premier Cru in quality though in the end, if only by a splitting hair, I will always choose the CC.  Drink 2019-2025.  Tasted February 2017  @Querciabella  @rogcowines  @querciabella  querciabella

Renzo Marinai Chianti Classico Riserva 2013, Docg Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

A high-toned Panzano 2013 and very Riserva, of deep strawberry and raspberry fruit, intense and variegated tart palate structure and then a very long finish. The tannic structure is grainy and a bit wild. Expect two years minimum to tame these wild moving parts. Drink 2019-2026.  Tasted February 2017  #renzomarinai  #renzomarinai  Renzo Marinai Panzano

Savignola Paolina Chianti Classico Riserva 2013, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

The Greve in Chianti Savignola Paolina comes with a pretty nose, classic, elongated and slightly upturned. Still a bit of reductive winemaking at play but it’s almost ready to open up. Aeration helps and releases the endorphins. It’s one of those wines that softens the grip on the palate and goes all soft, silky and downy. May as well drink up. Pleasant and correct in a 2004 sort of way. Drink 2017-2018.  Tasted February 2017  #savignolapaolina  Savignola Paolina

Torcibrencoli Chianti Classico Riserva Mariagiaconda 2013, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

From Greve in Chianti, the Mariagiaconda, loosely translated as “the lies of Maria,” but in all seriousness is actually named for founders Marcello Pini and Maria Gioconda Bucciolini. A Riserva made by children and grandchildren that is quite bright and somewhat volatile but give it time. Great red citrus joins that old-school aromatic sour-edged and tart winemaking style, with more canaiolo (eight per cent) addition than most. Still it is the sangiovese palate that shows some raisin and evolution though the acidity and tannin are fully engaged. Chocolate and espresso are all over the finish. A wild ride, mostly in a conventional sense but with an unconventional result. Drink 2017-2020.  Tasted February 2017   @torcibrencoli

Vallepicciola Chianti Classico Riserva 2013, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

The complexity of character in this Chianti Classico Riserva extends straight from the name and throughout its being. More than just the “little one,” the Vallepicciola is like the Wormwood, the holy grass of aromatic plants, assenzio maggiore, dry, without sweetness and sometimes without petioles. The irony is not lost here for the name can also translate to petiole. Certainly an off the charts pH and dry extract sangiovese with 10 per cent merlot, from the south facing Val di Picciola vineyard, left of the Arbia River in Castelnuovo Berardenga. The immediate impression given by this exceptional CCR is one of understanding and balance, with aromatics in the ripe berry and plum spectrum. Plenty of earth on the nose, mostly dry and cool forest floor but also some aromatic leaves, herbs and fronds. Like a fennel, porcini and fiddlehead smoothie, with parsley and basil for savoury measure. Remarkable smooth and silky palate, mouthful and viscous nature, followed by plenty of round acidity and forward tannin. Not quite powerfully tonic, febrifuge or anthelmintic but it needs three years to integrate, settle and tell a tale. I will personally really want to know more about this pure and complex specimen. It just tastes expensive. Drink 2019-2028.  Tasted February 2017  @Vallepicciola  @vallepicciola  @vallepicciola

Villa Calcinaia Chianti Classico Riserva 2013, Docg Tuscany, Italy (Agent, $43.95, WineAlign)

So very diffident to that annata Chianti Classico, Villa Calcinaia’s Greve in Chianti Riserva 2013 changes a gear (or three), as it should, into a more reductive and yes, reserved sangiovese. The perfume is deeper clay resolved, texture is amplified and the tannins are not only sweeter than the CC but more toothsome than many Riserva. The acidity is very in line with the annata but perhaps also on the sweeter, even a bit more delicate side. This Capponi walks a very balanced, forward, slow gaining of elevation line, like the vineyards themselves the way they rise with facile incline away from the villa and winery. The peaceful easy feeling gifted by this Riserva impresses the estate’s inclinations, something that is reproduced through a miniature architectural rendering of Calcinaia’s property and vineyards. If you ever pay a visit, don’t miss this fascinating model. Drink 2018-2024.  Tasted February 2017  @villacalcinaia  @Nicholaspearce_  villacalcinaia  nicholaspearcewines  @calcinaia  Nicholas Pearce

Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2012

Carpineto Chianti Classico Riserva 2012, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (47118, $29.95, WineAlign)

Really expressive, extremely tonal sangiovese, inching ever so close to that microbial slash volatility threshold, with red citrus lactic notes dominant early and staying persistent. Turns to tapestry texture on the palate with continued earthy-Bretty character. Sweet fruit is certainly well-extracted and an integral part of that impression. Very long finish, certain as a representative of the vintage and its Greve in Chianti sangiovese roots. Drink 2018-2021.  Tasted February 2017  @CarpinetoWines  @UNIVINS  Carpineto Wines  @agence.UNIVINS  carpinetowines  univinscanada

Le Cinciole Chianti Classico Riserva Aluigi 2012, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

Yet another most excellent Panzano in Chianti sangiovese, from galestro clay/limestone schist and sandstone soils in a southwest facing vineyard. Only 3,000 bottles are made of what is quite a pretty and pulchritudinous nose with bright, puréed red berry fruit. It’s a warm inhalant to be sure and a fine gain is found running in criss-crossing acidity to match tannin on the palate. The variegation of tang and sour is quite something and will need two years to weave, layer and integrate. Drink 2019-2023. Tasted February 2017  #LeCinciole  Podere Le Cinciole  “Le Cinciole”

Lornano Chianti Classico Riserva Le Bandite 2012, Docg, Tuscany, Italy (230672, $19.95, WineAlign)

By Ontario standards Chianti Classico Riserva value does not come better than Le Bandite, “the bandits,” a sangiovese drawn like a fine line into white sand. Twenty months in “the big barrels” perpetuates the Silvio Campatelli and Nicolò Pozzoli approach to expose the purity of this 100 per cent varietal expression. The vintage gets its say with firm grip and formidable structure so perhaps the fruit is considered the hunted from these grounds where such activity is prohibited. This ’12 is as big as a Lornano ever really gets, possessive of a Castellina in Chianti meets Montereggioni Tuscan reality, positioned somewhere between the bright and the impossible. Its youth mixed into deep clay settles rigid and full on the palate, like ’09 once did and so a year will be needed to open things up. Drink 2018-2025.  Tasted February 2017  @LornanoWines  Frontier Wine Merchants  loran  @lornanochianticlassico

Quercia Al Poggio Chianti Classico Riserva 2012, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (Agent, WineAlign)

From Barberino Val D’Elsa, this aromatically speaking has it all going on. High tones of some markedly round volatility, extreme brightness of cinnamon heart, tart red fruit and cool, savoury, mint-influenced herbology. Quite the toast, roast and over the top carrying notes. There is just too much of too many good and exaggerated things. Drink 2018-2021.  Tasted February 2017  @quercialpoggio  The Small Winemakers Collection  @Smallwinemakers  Quercia al Poggio in Toscana  @smallwinemakerscollection  quercia_al_poggio  

Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2011

Losi Querciavalle Chianti Classico Riserva 2011, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (Agent, $24.95, WineAlign)

Not unusual for 2011 Riserva, this is still a bit reductive and along with the loaded combination of galestro and heavy clay there is an impressive level of concentration and compression. My how this settles into its profound acceptance of geological contention to express sangiovese with as much sense of place as any with a Castelnuovo Berardenga address. Aromatics are also unique to the Pontignanello terroir, with notes of lemon and pith, orange, pomegranate and some spicy barrel accenting exotica. Not quite incense but not far from it either. The liqueur is simultaneously bright and deep. The sense of setting the compass right to Querciavalle makes this a soulful and poignant CCR to make grandparents proud. Drink 2019-2026.  Tasted February 2017  @Valerialosi  @NaturalVines  @marzia_gallo  valerialosi  @famiglialosi  Valeria Losi  Marzia Gallo

Machiavelli Chianti Classico Riserva Vigna Di Fontalle 2011, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

Machiavelli is located at Sant’ Andrea in Percussina (San Casciano Val di Pesa) and yes, the it is place where the Italian Renaissance historian, politician, diplomat, philosopher, humanist, and writer was exiled. This single-vineyard Riserva Vigna Di Fontalle is jammy, slightly raisined and coming into an oxidative period. It’s a bit past its prime which is too bad because there was at some point some really ripe and expressive,  if now just a bit baked fruit.  Drink 2017-2018.  Tasted February 2017  #villamacchiavelli   @VillaMachiavelli  #villamachiavelli

Il Palazzino Chianti Classico Riserva Grosso Sanese 2011, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

Il Palazzino is owned by Alessandro and Andrea Sderci and is located in Monti in Chianti, in Gaiole in Chianti, 20 km northeast of Siena. Their flagship wine is this Grosso Sanese, a sangiovese of gorgeous aromatic waft with complexities provided by fresh cut roses, deeply mined minerality and fresh sliced morning summer fruit. Great tension, so much more variegation from the earth and a natural, let it be who it is and from laissez-faire from Monti village emotion. This is CCR with true soul and it truly is a really clean and natural wine. Really fine tannin, sweetness from round acidity and architectural design set in the past with innovation for the future. Amazing CCR. Drink 2019-2029. Tasted February 2017  #podereilpalazzino  Agriturismo Il Palazzino  #ilpalazzino

Vignavecchia Riserva Chianti Classico Odoardo Beccari 2011, Docg Tuscany, Italy (Agent, $33.95, WineAlign)

A consistent and terrific follow-up to 2010 from old vines in Radda in Chianti, this is warm and creeping north (or south depending on your explanatory orientation) from deep, religious aromatics. Fresh slices of fennel bulb and wet concrete are rich, wet, juicy and vaporous. Sweet acidity and tannin join spicy red fruit from what is ostensibly the most unctuous and deeply tangy sangiovese you are likely to ever taste. This is quite something else, both hedonistically indulgent and propitiously wild and engaging. You had better like it hot and bothered, fleshy, gregarious and sexy. This really has it all. Drink 2017-2024.  Tasted February 2017  #vignavecchia  #Vignavecchia  @VignaVecchia

Villa di Geggiano Chianti Classico Riserva 2011, Docg Tuscany, Italy (Agent, WineAlign)

Older vines are employed for the Riserva (between 25 and 40 years old) from Geggiano’s southern (Castelnuovo Berardenga) Chianti Classico vineyards northeast of Siena and Ponte e Bozzone. Like the Annata the use of carbon dioxide in the vat followed by autochthonous yeasts in steel tanks delivers the first layer of locked in freshness. The next lengthy step sees 18 months in (12 year-old) 500L casks with 15 per cent augment by new 225L barriques. Another year in larger casks (including 2,000L big boys) sets this CCR up for time-delayed/lapse character release and to this day has retained its freshness. So what’s the secret? “It’s not anything we do,” admits Andrea Boscu Bandinelli Bianchi, “it’s our soil.” An aggregate of clay, river silt and Galestro keeps humidity stable and balanced, when the vintage is warm (or not) and for 2011 this is remarkable. It is admittedly calm, gentle and settled but the brightness carries on. Drink 2017-2022.  Tasted February 2017  @VilladiGeggiano  @BarrelSelect  villa_di_geggiano  andreaboscu  barrelselect  @VilladiGeggiano  @barrelselectinc

Villa Trasqua Chianti Classico Riserva Fanatico 2011, Docg Tuscany, Italy (Agent, $29.95, WineAlign)

Though not declared on the label Fanatico is 100 per cent sangiovese in 2011 and very much in line, vein and style to the Annata Chianti Classico. The Bernabei entusiasta/amatore/appassionato for Trasqua’s exceptional Castellina in Chianti terroir comes across with CC amplifications so this does by its nomenclature in attitude, acidity and big red fruit. To stay clear of hyperbole balance was key to the vintage and here struck with firm, grippy and almost gritty amplitude. As a result it’s nearly atypical to traditional but it speaks to the specificity of Trasqua grown sangiovese. Drink 2018-2023.  Tasted twice, February 2017  #VillaTrasqua   Villa Trasqua  @HULSI_II  Frontier Wine Merchants

Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2010

Casuccio Tarletti Chianti Classico Riserva Campoalto 2010, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

From the sandy/clay Ponte a Bozzone section of Castelnuovo Berardenga. A bit warm to be sure and on the coulis to jammy side with plenty of aromatic personality. Has hit its secondary stride and the greenery is coming into view; nettles, herbs and ferns. A full-fledged forest floor in late spring or early summer. Some toast and even a flinty note. Mineralogist of sorts from Campoalto and though the tart, slightly reasoned and raisining fruit is leaning to wax, this is the wise old Chianti Classico speaking. Loving the traditional and the classic in full-bodied form is nothing to be ashamed about.  Drink 2017-2020.  Tasted February 2017

Fattoria La Ripa Chianti Classico Riserva 2010, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (984401, $26.95, WineAlign)

In Castellina in Chianti Ripa ripeness is a virtue and the road is full of clay. This must be pulled from vines reaching deep into the caked and the crusted because the level of density through structure is felt with palpable concentration. It’s a bit stinky and minutely Bretty but well within acceptable reason. Plenty of black cherry blossom and chocolate on the nose in a semi-confected way. Large specimen of CCR, full on, in and with the big barrel inside. Acidity still rages and tannin coats with gamey and hematic brush. Huge wine. Drink 2019-2029.  Tasted February 2017  #FattoriaLaRipa  Nicolas Caramelli  nicolascaramelli  #fattorialaripa

Piemaggio Chianti Classico Riserva Le Fioraie 2010, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

Le Fioraie is a flower garden indeed, filled with the love, demure and the grace in its aromatics; fresh and dried flowers, gardenia of lavender and rosemary, plus roses and even violets. Really ripe and tender fruit remains in great shape though not ushered along by any true sense of acidity or furthering structure. This represents Castellina in Chianti with the sort of exemplary CCR for current contemplative sipping. Drink 2017-2019.  Tasted February 2017  @Piemaggio  piemaggio

Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2009

Casa Di Monte Chianti Classico Riserva Le Capitozze 2009, Docg Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

Le Capitozze is a Riserva captured from the estate’s best grape selection out of the Chiesanuova Vineyard in San Casciano Val di Pesa. Here some age and extract signals a return to aromatic raspberry purée though curiously without the dusty, jammy Bordeaux stylistic so sangiovese is categorically preserved in the varietal display. Secondary life has come to this ’09 CCR, with a roasted meat note and sweet tannic interplay. There still persists a red citrus acidity on the finish so three of four more years will find “The Captains” drinking well. “Elegante e leggermente?” É vero. Drink 2017-2020.  Tasted February 2017  Azienda agricola Casa di Monte  #capitozze

Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2007

Villa di Geggiano Chianti Classico Riserva 2007, Docg Tuscany, Italy (Agent, WineAlign)

A warm and balanced vintage, older vines (between 20 and 35 years old) speak straight to me though proprietor Andrea Boscu Bianchi Bandinelli prefers his 2006. Geggiano’s Castelnuovo Berardenga Chianti Classico vineyards are located northeast of Siena and Ponte e Bozzone, a terroir composed of clay, river silt and galestro. Clean, pure and bright, this could easily pass for 2011, or even 2013. The aromatic brightness eases the mind and prepares the palate for the 10 year development of grit and power so in the end there is equity that leads to elegance. Chianti Classico Riserva as a gift of experience. Drink 2017-2021.  Tasted February 2017  @VilladiGeggiano  @BarrelSelect  villa_di_geggiano  andreaboscu  barrelselect  @VilladiGeggiano  @barrelselectinc

Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG 2014

Castello di Ama Chianti Classico Gran Selezione San Lorenzo 2014, Docg Tuscany, Italy (418897, $48.95, WineAlign)

Even with the benevolent San Lorenzo as the sample size, going at 2014 Gran Selezione is like trying to crack a walnut shell with your teeth, the husk so tough you might break two or more trying. What is noted in the single-vineyard San Lorenzo is a hyperbole of 2014’s general characteristics; firm grip, savour, herbology and liqueur. There is extreme Gran Selezione personality humming in San Lorenzo and help me if two years are needed simply for assessment and five for the drinking window to open. The attention to soil and Ama’s prized Gaiole in Chianti climat is duly noted, as is the careful selection from the vintage. I will say this. No amount of selection, barrel or time can allow Gran Selezione to escape from 2014. In the short term it will be a downfall, in the long, long, long run a blessing. Drink 2021-2031.  Tasted February 2017  @CastellodiAma  @castellodiama  @HalpernWine  castellodiama  halpernwine  @halpernwine

Rocca delle Macie Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Riserva Di Fizzano Single Vineyard 2014, Docg Tuscany, Italy (699454, $33.95, WineAlign)

Only 7,000 bottles (as opposed to 30,000 in 2013) were produced and I think I can say with utmost certainly that this single-vineyard Fizzano is and will be the most approachable Gran Selezione out of 2014. The vineyard demands ripe and bright fruit, not too much coveting and even less wood. There is no heat and little to less herbs and savour on the nose. The palate is all smoky raspberry, smouldering rich and very near to coming into present and accounted for balance. Sweetness follows, mostly from fine, resolving tannin and then a return engagement with the perfumed, coulis fruit. Sergio Zingarelli tells me the harvest said great things to his winemaking team so the vintage’s already earned reputation is not what is deserved. The Fizzano is unctuous and savoury but pure and structured and blessed with such chewy, crunchy red fruit. It carries that no lo so liqueur of fruit that will survive and seek a truffled addendum in its tertiary future. Drink 2018-2025.  Tasted twice, at Anteprima Chianti Classico, February 2017 and ProWein, March 2017  @roccadellemacie  @roccadellemacie  @ProfileWineGrp  Profile Wine Group  roccadellemacie

Villa Calcinaia Chianti Classico Gran Selezione La Fornace 2014, Docg Tuscany, Italy (Agent, $67.95, WineAlign)

La Fornace was planted in 1975 in close proximity to the Greve River and its sandier soils bring a contradistinct voice to Chianti Classico produced off of other vineyards on the estate. “The Furnace” is so aptly named because of its solar exposure and how the wine takes it in, bathes in it and extricates it to texture. The plot is not denied some of the typical brick-gray Calcinaia clay and the variegation leads to a beautiful exaggeration of the Capponi sangiovese stylistic. Compared to and in conjunction of what I tasted out of barrel for ’15 this completes the Fornace picture, in line with the texture but leaning away from those sweet accents and returning back to more pure and distinct sangiovese roots. Much time will be needed to elongate those angles. Drink 2020-2029.  Tasted February 2017  @villacalcinaia  @Nicholaspearce_  villacalcinaia  nicholaspearcewines  @calcinaia  Nicholas Pearce

Villa Calcinaia Chianti Classico Gran Selezione La Bastignano 2014, Docg Tuscany, Italy (Agent, $67.95, WineAlign)

I’m not certain whether La Bastignano should translate to “good fortune or “good luck,” (buona fortuna or in bocca al lupo) but regardless of the nomenclature this Chianti Classico Gran Selezione will bring great happiness at some point halfway through the next decade. It is actually called Bastignano after the name of the holding on which the vineyards grow and the name refers to one of the four originally poderi of 1524. Bastignano is to me the most poignant and specific gaze into the mirror rendering of sangiovese, the Villa Calcinaia estate and the maker, a.k.a. Conte Sebastiano Capponi. This Greve in Chianti GS is such an ulterior varietal expression from less clay, more silt, less texture and more elastic structure as a result. There is less density in Bastignano, it’s more elegant and in single-vineyard Gran Selezione, reaching for the ethereal, especially out of 2014, because it has been handled with delicate hands. You get the grilling meats, herbs and an impression that is all location. The wine of place more than any in the Calcinaia line-up, with just a hint of concentrated earth on the finish. Drink 2019-2030.  Tasted February 2017  @villacalcinaia  @Nicholaspearce_  villacalcinaia  nicholaspearcewines  @calcinaia  Nicholas Pearce

Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG 2013

Castello Di Gabbiano Gran Selezione Bellezza Chianti Classico 2013, Docg Tuscany, Italy (652438, $39.95, WineAlign)

Tasted with winemaker Federico Cerelli alongside the new era ushering 2012, a wine with six months further resolve, which is really just a moment in life. Looking at this 2013 it clings to that ’12’s ideal, still firm and in need of down time, stirring still, wasting some time. Here a gear switch, alteration and adjustment. A reduction of new oak, an increase of the mineral cogitation specific to the Albarese soil, with tannins great like in 2012 but finer, more elegant. This is more classic in the sangiovese thought because what also is allowed is the level of dry extract, “over 30 for sure” notes Cerelli. This Bellezza is pure sangiovese, the best Bellezza in years, classic to remind of many years ago but a very modern wine. It is the Gabbiano predicament and the predilection to announce what Gran Selezione means so in a word, bravo. You could actually drink this now and then over 25 years. “What is Bellezza? This is the best block of the estate” is the answer as told by Federico. Great tannins, simply great tannins. Drink 2019-2032.  Tasted May 2016 and February 2017  @castgabbiano  @MarkAnthonyWine  castellodigabbiano  markanthonyon  @castellogabbiano  Ivano Reali (Castello Di Gabbiano)

Colle Bereto Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2013, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (Agent, $67.50, WineAlign)

The current incarnation of the single-vineyard Gran Selezione from “la vigna del Convento” is a wildly rich and structured, intuitive and interpretive expression. The vineyard resides in a great Radda amphitheatre, situated on the slope beneath Il Convento di Radda in Chianti. Winemaker Bernardo Bianchi does nothing to veer away from the house-composed, let the vineyard speak style, from a sun-worshipping, ambitious yet wise, 22 year-old Galestro soil block at a high Chianti Classico 500m peak. All together making for the new super Riserva of restrained power and elegance. If the aromatics in 2011 were of a wow factor they are somehow, magically and inexplicably improved upon in 2013. The field of flowering greens, the deep way you inhale the fruit and above all else, the mineral of this Galestro. It pervades and attacks, especially on the palate but when you taste sangiovese like this you understand the disconnected exaggerations, over-stressed acidity and the (comparative) imbalance in some of the GS peers. Bereto’s is one of the finest Gran Selezione and worthy of every charged sip. Drink 2020-2035.  Tasted February 2017  #collebereto  @NokhrinWines  Azienda Agricola Colle Bereto  Azienda Agricola Colle Bereto

Le Fonti di Panzano Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2013, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (Agent, WineAlign)

From Vicky Schmitt-Vitali in Panzano, the ’13 Gran Selezione is already showing some lovely evolution. There is a sumptuousness and sweet culminating vintage victory in this fruit with certain deep clay mineral undertones. This really delves down and mines for Galestro and as a result is somewhat mysterious mineral stuff. Acidity is beautifully integrated though not quite of the magical layering that can be displayed by the greats in the greatest vintages. Drink 2019-2025.  Tasted February 2017  @LeFontiPanzano  Fattoria Le Fonti – Panzano  @TheVine_RobGroh  @thevineto  poderelefonti

Villa A Sesta Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Sorleone 2013, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (Agent, $61.95, WineAlign)

The sangiovese means of communication comes in many types, some old and some new, like Villa A Sesta, the sixth estate, from the Siena hills in Castelnuovo Berardenga. Sorleone, the lion’s lion, for the lion, a sangiovese of great presence, of fruit over matter, mineral over mind and acidity in every facet of being. While it’s certainly striking and leaves the deepest of impression, in one respect this is quintessential Gran Selezione because it’s so perfectly Chianti Classico and on the other hand it’s a raging machine. So the question begs how long it will take to simmer, integrate and roar down. How much time does the pride of the Gallo Nero need to find its new age, reggae rastafari, Judah zion beat? It will, but that’s in upwards of 10 more years time. Fantastic display of alpha male GS. Drink 2022-2030.  Tasted February 2017  @villa_a_sesta  @StemWineGroup  #villaasesta  stemwinegroup  @villaasesta  @stemwine

Vicchiomaggio Chianti Classico Gran Selezione La Prima 2013, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (Agent, $60.00, WineAlign)

Vicchiomaggio’s ’13 was released just two months ago from the single vineyard La Prima, named for the first vineyard planted by British-Italian winemaker John Matta. On a hill built upon Galestro soil, of rock and clay facing south towards Greve in Chianti. A warm and very heartening Chianti Classico this is, deeply rich in fruit but with both feet deeply planted in that mixed earth. It’s herbaceous in its sweet coulis and lingers long. It’s the structure upon this length that brings perpetual strength. This Gran Selezione would help to push that boulder up the hill. You can count on it. Drink 2019-2029.  Tasted February 2017  @vicchiomaggio  @SignatureWS1  castellovicchiomaggio  Castello Vicchiomaggio

Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG 2012

Concadoro Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2012, Docg Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

Concadoro, from Castellina in Chianti, as opposed to the Conca d’Oro, in Panzano. A slightly musty and even a touch more soil funky for Gran Selezione so aeration is an absolute must. Don’t be afraid to splash this one around and get your hands wet. It needs the air, the multi-decant and the love. It is so much better off for the attention. What you are gifted is great clay with minerals lying in soak at the water table’s basin. You get unnamed fruit, red and rusty, rosy and ruby, ropey and wildly pure. You have curative and restorative power from the sort of GS (that’s just got to be 100 per cent sangiovese) that was always this way and will go forward the same. The fruity roll up flavour is no child’s play candy. It is marbled and textured. Very fibrous sangiovese with tremendous upside, given the shake up and four more years of patience. The old happen upon Gran Reserva Rioja parallel is drawn upon once again. Drink 2021-2034.  Tasted February 2017  #concadoro  Agriturismo Concadoro  #concadoro

Il Molino Di Grace Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Il Margone 2012, Docg Tuscany, Italy (435115, $39.95, WineAlign)

Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Il Margone 2012 comes structured from a vintage with frost in May that compromised 50 per cent of the crop and as a result, bestowed lowest of low yields and concentrated berries. After that happenstance of natural selection the vintage turned to hot and dry, with great weather at harvest. This is and could only have developed into a fleshy and magnanimous Gran Selezione with acidity equivocal and anti-acrimonious to bones draped with the ripest of fruit. And it’s a good thing the acidity is set to high because that fruit and richness will need it going forward. Such a GS had to be crafted this way, with compound aggression and aggressive behaviour. Ultimately defines what it means to be affirmative action Gran Selezione. Drink 2021-2030.  Tasted February 2017  @Ilmolinodigrace  Il Molino Di Grace  Frontier Wine Merchants  ilmolinodigrace

Melini Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Terrarossa 2012, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

Melini is found in Radda in Chianti and their Gran Selezione clearly ear marks from terra rossa soil, a red clay soil variegate found in Radda and other Chianti Classico locales, like Carrobbio in Panzano. A musty note but once again it’s aeration and agitation that opens the gates to charm and appreciation. I don’t get 100 per cent sangiovese here, more like merlot and cabernet mixed in with the dusty, currant, Cassis, tomato leaf and peppery jolts accenting and sidling alongside the sangiovese. The mineral-saline aroma sears ahead of the fruit which is also bright of light cherry. There is some microbial activity noted and the palate falls a bit flat so this is surely not the most sound example. Drink 2017-2019.  Tasted February 2017

Rocca Delle Macìe Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Sergio Zingarelli 2012, Docg Tuscany, Italy (Agent, $122.95, WineAlign)

This is the flagship wine from the famed estate, a Gran Selezione that bears the patriarchal Sergio Zingarelli name. As expected it is a richer, deeper and depth welling GS, clearly aimed towards the crowning achievement of place, more hedonism, but of course, seeking purity and elegance. The extra year or two in bottle means integration and wood having subsided a bit. “We decided to change the vineyard in 1974 in front of Rocca to be the best vineyard with the best grapes and we will produce our best wine,” I am told by Zingarelli as we taste at ProWein. What was 90 per cent sangiovese (planted in 1999-2000) this 2012 is accented by colorino but in 2014 it will be 100 per cent sangiovese. Elegant as much as sangiovese and Gran Selezione will likely ever strive to be. It is hard not to be impressed with this wine. It bursts with the essence of plums and richest of red cherries, but it’s not without it’s requisite crunch and chew. The absence of astringency is remarkable and speaks to the quality of the fruit and the gentle touch while working with such phenolic ability. Start drinking this anytime. Drink 2017-2025.  Tasted March 2017  @roccadellemacie  @roccadellemacie  @ProfileWineGrp  Profile Wine Group  roccadellemacie

Rocca di Montegrossi Chianti Classico Gran Selezione San Marcellino 2012, DOCG Tuscany Italy (Agent, $59.00, WineAlign)

When the names San Marcellino and Monti in Chianti are invoked for Chianti Classico it evokes a singular sort of tradition and understanding. Stir in the grapes of a vineyard raised in the shadow of the 1000 year-old Pieve San Marcellino, 20-25 per cent of which are pulled from vines 50-plus years old and some ghosts will be summoned. Historians will recall that in 1039 Azzi di Geremia Ricasoli gave his brother all the rights he had on the district and many territorial disputes were to follow. Now in 2017 this 2012 top quality Gran Selezione is the current embodiment of all that tortuous history with welling tension of its own. Two years in barriques plus two more in bottle should be plenty to sooth a savage beast but this ’12 is not there yet. Thankfully a five per cent inclusion (since 2006) of local, endemic Pugnitello raises the complexity, complexion and complimentary game, lifting the sangiovese to bright heights. Red to black fruits on the nose give way to a mouthfeel that is surprisingly unshackling for top-tier Chianti Classico, in fact it’s soothing and comfortable. This is a tale of two Gran Selezione in one glass so leave it be for two years. Seamlessness awaits. Drink 2019-2026.  Tasted February 2017  #roccadimontegrossi  @RoccadiMontegrossi  Devon Masciangelo  #roccadimontegrossi

Vignamaggio Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Di Monna Lisa 2012, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (Agent, WineAlign)

Vignamaggio’s Monna Lisa is blessed of demurred and beautifully hazy spirit, like a painting imbued of an artist’s ability to render a spiritual glow. Aromatics are delicate and lifted, certainly ripe berry and rendered by south exposure sunshine. This Gran Selezione is classic Greve in Chianti in every way, riper than many other Chianti Classico because of hill orientation, exposition and location. As always, when such a wine delivers more on the palate than it had in its shy way on the nose, success is immediately qualified. This carries that necessary but never overbearing acidity. Ingenuity and genuine honesty collide in a perfect world from what has to be the Monna Lisa’s great GS vintage. Bravo. Drink 2019-2028.  Tasted February 2017  @vignamaggio  @HHDImports_Wine  Vignamaggio  vignamaggio

Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG 2011

Bibbiano Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna Del Capannino 2011, DOCG Tuscany, Italy (Agent, WineAlign)

The vineyard “Del Capannino” was planted in the 1950’s by the late great Giulio Gambelli, assistant to Tancredi Biondi-Santi. Not surprisingly and in connection to Brunello di Montalcino it is a clonal planting of sangiovese grosso, with further propagation done in the 1990s. The rich Albarese soil of Del Capannino enjoys the finest exposure and microclimate on the estate and is considered the best expression of Bibbiano’s “genius loci,” the spirit of the place. The first single vineyard vintage was 1998 and the Riserva designation switched to Gran Selezione in 2014, retroactive to the 2010 vintage. Today Bibbiano uses Botti (di rovere) Grande and Tonneaux (beginning in 2008) after barriques had been used for years. Still and always has been 100 per cent grosso, the only producer to do so in Chianti Classico. And so theirs is a liqueur that of course takes your mind to Brunello but this is purely Castellina and Chianti Classico so don’t be confused or tempted to settle for idyll comparisons. This has freshness, purity and that enticing meets teasing acidity, certainly consistent with and of no divergence to Bibbiano style. Ties to CC and CCR are blatant, necessary and so very pleasing. There is great structure but you can think about drinking this in its youth. It wont let out all its secrets but it will begin to tell its story. A story of territory. Drink 2019-2028.  Tasted February 2017  @bibbianowines  VineWhys Wine Experts  @bibbianowines  bibbianowines

Casa Di Monte Chianti Classico Riserva Gran Selezione Le Capitozze 2011, Docg Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

From San Casciano Val di Pesa, Casa Di Monte’s Le Capitozze, perhaps meaning “the spires.” This is the outlier, deeply perfumed and full of mentholated deep rub that wafts with reckless abandon from the glass. The volatility is part Brett and part over indulgence in minty-herbaceous behaviour. Drink 2017-2020. Tasted February 2017  Azienda agricola Casa di Monte  #capitozze

Passolini Dall’onda Chianti Classico Riserva Gran Selezione Sicelle 2011, Docg Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

From Barberino Val d’Elsa Sicelle is a fine Gran Selezione is a fine example here of how rich, ripe and strident fruit walks side by side with ripping acidity, never quite forming a perfect unison of cells, yet finding a way to coexist parallel to one another. This is a strong and red liquid ruby, tart and powerful example that certainly needs time to settle. Drink 2019-2023 Tasted February 2017  Fattoria Pasolini dall’Onda Borghese  #FattoriaPasolinidallOnda

Renzo Marinai Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2011, Docg Tuscany, Italy (WineAlign)

Marinai’s Panzano Gran Selezione 2011 is 100 per cent pulled from the lower slope beginning at 450m and up to 550 called I Cappano, adjacent to La Massa, facing southeast (and also towards Carobbio). At this apropos time it is showing some lessening and integrating volatility along with some drying red fruit, that GS liqueur and plenty of barrique. It’s real time barrel stay is nine months in big barrel plus 18 in barrique. The vines are still quite young (in and around 15 years-old) but the galestro here is a mineral of will and strength. The style is so very 1990’s but one that has been accomplished with great acumen and skill. It’s the style, loyal to the estate and with the accompaniment of great structure. Like 1997 in so many ways. If you want to know something about the house philosophy, the words of the poet Iori Marinai may shed some light. “Come si fa a morire senza aver mai baciato un fiore? Or… “How do you die without ever kissing a flower?” Drink 2019-2026. Tasted February 2017  #renzomarinai  #renzomarinai  Renzo Marinai Panzano

Villa Trasqua Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Nerento 2011, Docg Tuscany, Italy (459685, $39.95, WineAlign)

Nerento lies at the heart of the Trasqua Vineyards and the vines take root in the deep red soil. The name might be mythical, a tree of life reference or from the Latin “nerent,” meaning courting. This is Gran Selezione that courts like a suitor, charming and suave but built on power and a deep liqueur, like at the bottom of a pure well. The sangiovese is still very kissed by wood and locked shut. The first bottle (over dinner) needed more than one hour to open, eventually releasing fresh florals (violets especially), herbs, savour and forest floor. The second bottle next day was not so eager to do the same. This is compact, woven, textured and refined sangiovese with forceful (and the promise of) delicate tannins. Drink 2019-2026.  Tasted twice, February 2017  #VillaTrasqua   Villa Trasqua  @HULSI_II  Frontier Wine Merchants

Good to go!

Godello

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