Wine & Spirits - April 2021 - 117

Focus Tuscan Sangioveses
88 | Badia a Coltibuono

$16

2018 Chianti Classico Cultusboni RS (Best
Buy) ^ This is Badia a Coltibuono's entry-level
Chianti Classico, made with purchased fruit,
and it provides excellent value with plenty of
sangiovese character. The 2018 is bright and
bouncy, reflective of the moderate growing
season, with flavors of sour cherry and pomegranate and hints of green herbs. § Dalla Terra
Winery Direct, Napa, CA
522584

88 | Gagliole

$20

2018 Chianti Classico Rubiolo (Best Buy) ^
A hint of Sichuan peppercorn accents this
wine's dark cherry flavors, while raspy tannins cleanse the finish. It's a bit rustic, ready
for beef stew. § Vias Imports Ltd, NY
522594

88 | San Felice

$16

2018 Chianti Classico (Best Buy) ^) Flavors
of red and black cherry take on an earthy
cherry-pit bitterness in this wine's rounded
tannins while bright acidity makes it versatile
at dinner. § Vision Wine & Spirits, Taunton, MA

RISERVA
522572

93 | Badia a Coltibuono

$30

2015 Chianti Classico Riserva Cultus
Boni ^ The warm summer of 2015 was followed by mild autumn weather with some
welcome rain, leading to a harvest at Badia
a Coltibuono that saw both high quality and
quantity. This Riserva is classic in its flavors
of ripe red and black cherries woven with
notes of thyme and tarragon. Fine tannins
give an elegant shape to the rich fruit tones,
and the wine finishes vibrantly with subtle
spice. § Dalla Terra Winery Direct, Napa, CA

its juicy red-berry flavors, it has the structure to age well too. § Freixenet Mionetto USA,
White Plains, NY
522616

93 | Castello di Volpaia

$40

2017 Chianti Classico Riserva ^ A hot and
dry summer in 2017 kept yields low, but rain
in mid-September and Volpaia's high-elevation vineyards (1,300-1,970 feet) brought the
grapes to full ripeness, giving a wine with
rich, palate-saturating dark-cherry flavors.
The wine is densely concentrated yet never
heavy, with a smooth texture punctuated by
warm spice notes. Tasted from magnum. § Wilson Daniels, Napa, CA
522615

93 | L'Erta di Radda

$42

2017 Chianti Classico Riserva Diego Finocchi focuses this wine on a parcel where he
finds the grapes produce a wine with tension
and balance. His 2017 offers intensely ripe
flavors of dark cherry and strawberry balanced by bright, well-integrated acidity and
layered with notes of amaro and subtle spice.
It's a wine worth seeking out, if you can find
one of the 2,000 bottles he makes. § North
Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA
522558

93 | Querciabella

$50

2016 Chianti Classico Riserva ^ A long, even
growing season in 2016 yielded a harmonious and focused Riserva at Querciabella. Its
flavors of red cherry and raspberry are precise and lively, gaining flesh and depth as the
wine picks up hints of spice with exposure
to air. Those vibrant fruit tones offer immediate appeal, yet the wine's firm structure
bodes well for cellaring. § Maisons Marques
& Domaines, Oakland, CA
522561

92 | Gagliole

$100

2016 Chianti Classico Riserva Galulle ^ Sangiovese for this Riserva comes from Gagliole's
oldest vines, and the fruit is whole-cluster
fermented to give a dense, firmly structured
wine. Its black-cherry flavors are packed with
notes of dark chocolate, cherry bark and peppery spice. A few years of cellaring will give
the firm tannins and ample spice notes time
to soften and integrate. § Vias Imports Ltd, NY
522555

92 | Villa Calcinaia

523469

93 | Castello di Monsanto

$28

2017 Chianti Classico Riserva (Best Buy) ^
This Riserva is impressively floral and fresh
for coming out of the hot and dry 2017 growing season. It opens with scents of herbs
and red cherries that continue on the palate, joined by notes of orange peel and propelled by vibrant acidity. Appealing now for

91 | Antinori

$45

91 | Carpineto

$27

90 | Antinori

$45

90 | San Felice

$25

2018 Chianti Classico Riserva Marchese
Antinori Tenuta Tignanello ^ This wine is
an opulent expression of Chianti Classico. Its
flavors of ripe red cherry and cassis brim with
notes of vanilla and baking spices gained during one year of aging in French and Hungarian oak barriques. Those spicy notes begin
to relax with exposure to air, revealing the
bright red-fruit tones and suggesting that a
few years in the cellar will temper the woodderived flavors. § Ste. Michelle Wine Estates,
Woodinville, WA
522552
2016 Chianti Classico Riserva (Best Buy) ^
Hints of earth and spice accent this wine's
rich dark-cherry flavors, while raspy tannins
lend a grippy texture that would work well
with poultry or pork dishes. § Opici Wines,
Glen Rock, NJ
522619
2017 Chianti Classico Riserva Marchese
Antinori Tenuta Tignanello ^ This shows
the warmth of the 2017 vintage in its flavors
of soft red cherry and cassis, those flavors
tinged with notes of vanilla and charred barrel. It's a broad and rich wine that will appeal
to those who appreciate a New World style. §
Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Woodinville, WA
522617
2017 Chianti Classico Riserva Il Grigio
(Best Buy) ^ Sangiovese from Castelnuovo
Berardenga's eastern end yielded a dark
and spicy wine in 2017. It unfolds with flavors of black cherry and orange zest edged
with notes of vanilla and spice. Pair its robust
flavors with hearty dishes or even spicy stirfries. § Vision Wine & Spirits, Taunton, MA

GRAN SELEZIONE

$41

2016 Chianti Classico Riserva ^ This is a dark
and earthy Riserva, the fruit coming from
the estate's best-exposed blocks in Greve.
The wine aged for 20 months in oak, gaining warm spice that tempers the firm mineral
undertones. Mouthwatering acidity weaves
through the rich dark-cherry tones, keeping
all of the flavors tethered together. § Scoperta
Importing Co, Cleveland Heights, OH
523465

522569

96 | Rocca di Montegrossi

$70

2016 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione
Vigneto San Marcellino ^ Chianti Classico's
superb 2016 vintage yielded some excellent
wines, and Marco Ricasoli-Firidolfi's Gran
WINE & SPIRITS

APRIL 2021

117
https://www.castellodimonsanto.it/en/ https://www.roccadimontegrossi.it/en/our-wines/
Wine & Spirits - April 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - April 2021
