I asked 11 Italian wine experts what their favourite 2021 Chianti Classico is.
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As someone who is not incredibly familiar with Chianti Classico, I thought that the best way to learn more about it is by asking friends who know the area. Unfortunately, some of the top Italian wine writers are not well-known in the UK but believe me: they are the best!
Antonio Boco - Cigliano di Sopra
An odd vintage from various perspectives. I’m searching for confirmations: positive vibrations from tastings in the cellar that find a convincing follow-up. Cigliano di Sopra is a name that I underlined and wrote "future" next to it. And they are an odd estate from various points of view. There are great ideas here and time to put them into practice. 2021 is already truly good. Vivid and fragrant, with wildflowers, sweet citrus, and rough earth; it has a brilliant, responsive palate and the lively tannins of the vintage. Odd.
Iacopo Casadio - Poggerino
A wine that moves at two different paces, between tradition and contemporaneity, between noble simplicity and quiet resolution. It does not show off: represents Chianti Classico in all its "purity", not because it is 100% Sangiovese, but because it has no overarching structure, no theatrics, or scores.
Armando Castagno - Rocca di Montegrossi
Despite being geographically located in the context of southern Chianti Classico, not far from the border between Gaiole and Castelnuovo Berardenga, Montegrossi's vineyards have a pedoclimatic situation that gives their wines freshness, between surfaces covered by woods, rocky outcrops, respectable altitudes, and average temperatures cooler than elsewhere. This is precisely proved by Rocca di Montegrossi's Chianti Classico 2021, by Marco Ricasoli Firidolfi, a wine of captivating aromatic refinement today, but to be waited for a further, perhaps spectacular, improvement in the structure, still somewhat restrained. An admirable result from a vintage that was anything but easy to comprehend, in the name of the greatest bottles released by the winery - especially the 'cru' San Marcellino - in at least the last 25 years, and one of the most successful vintages of Chianti Classico overall.
Francesca Ciancio - Poggerino
Even in a difficult vintage like this, Piero Lanza has produced another little gem. The wines of Poggerino are "high-altitude" wines with vineyards located in Radda in Chianti, where everything is in balance, from acidity to roundness, from succulence to a fascinating austerity; a character that, in my opinion, a wine made on stony slopes must have. This wine plays with contrasts, and in the glass, you find the full fruit of cherries and saltiness, along with a touch of iron that vibrates until the end.
Sara Cintelli - San Giusto a Rentennano
They never miss a hit in Gaiole (specifically at San Giusto): from the luminous ruby colour, almost shiny, to the nose that reveals a precise ripe cherry, aromatic infused herbs, and a slight fresh balsamic note, all thanks to the diurnal ranges of the area. The finesse and agility surprise with momentum and dynamism, juicy and succulent. The disarming freshness and surgical precision of the tannins make it a drink of great energy, supported by the greedy sapidity that increases the beauty of this wine.
Tommaso Ciuffoletti - Riecine
It manages to perfectly decode a vintage of ups and downs between spring rains, summer droughts, and early harvesting. It is a wine that exceeds expectations. It does so with a nose of great intensity and precision, full of red fruit. In the mouth, it pushes balance to the extreme, keeping together fruit, body, tannins, and acidity. A wine that comes close to perfection in a vintage that was far from perfect. Hats off to the work done by the entire team.
Jacopo Cossater - Le Cinciole (to be released next year)
If it is true that it is not easy to give a comprehensive and homogeneous reading of Chianti Classico coming from Panzano, it is equally true that Luca Orsini's wines represent to my eyes the quintessence of what I love about the denomination: subtlety, succulence, depth, and momentum.
Paolo de Cristofaro - Cigliano di Sopra
In the latest vintage released, there is certainly less choice compared to 2020 and 2019, but the style of Chianti Classico that I usually look for is brilliantly portrayed by the 2021 Cigliano di Sopra. Sunny but not overheated, rather tonic in the fruit and intriguing in the spices, with a delightful wild background to tie everything together: truly evocative of the area of origin, if it is true that we head to San Casciano when we want a bonus of Mediterranean flavours, without sacrificing vigour and contrasts.
Italian Wine Drunkposting - Il Rubiolo di Gagliole
A pretty girl, who never lacks a smile, stops in front of the mirror just to give herself a blush on the cheeks before going out with her friends on Saturday afternoon. Il Rubiolo di Gagliole expresses this joviality and the blush is interpreted by the oak barrel (also paired with cement) placed by intelligent hands on a Sangiovese that brings ripe red-orange pulp ready to be bitten, for a refreshing drink.
Andrea Gori - Cigliano di Sopra
The choice to produce only one label makes this Chianti Classico a sort of younger Gran Selezione for this company with a happy and engaging imprint, not dissimilar from the character of Maddalena Fucile and Matteo Vaccari who lead it. Their 2021 is a delicious and tense wine between mint and pepper, red-orange and privet. The soil under Chiesanuova (just south of Florence, San Casciano) is the only one with rocky soils outside Monti del Chianti and its character emerges clearly: juicy, and direct at the same time; raspberries, red currants, violet, cherry, beautiful acidity, it drags and seduces you with its spiciness.
Carlo Macchi - San Giusto a Rentennano
In a vintage that is certainly not powerful and austere, a wine with well-balanced tannins, adequate body, and great balance, deserves to be highlighted. Furthermore, its grumpy youthfulness works in its favour for the future. A friend of mine who is no longer with us would say that "chianteggia" greatly.
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