Falstaff Magazin International Nr. 1/2022

wine / CHIANTI CLASSICO

wine / CHIANTI CLASSICO Manetti then got the young oenologist Franco Bernabei on board and together they proceeded to make wines that made the world sit up and listen: all of a sudden there was Chianti Classico that was really good. A little later, they launched their single-vineyard wine Vigna del Sorbo, at the time it was designated Riserva, today it is a Gran Selezione – and finally they presented their famous Flaccianello – a pure Sangiovese and one of Tuscany’s most sought-after wines. Giovannella Stianti Mascheroni turned Volpaia in Radda into the well-regarded winery it is. Today she is supported by her children Federica and Nicolò in running the estate. In the 1980s, when regulations did not yet permit that Chianti Classico could be made exclusively from Sangiovese, Stianti Mascheroni resolutely made her 100 percent Sangiovese wine Coltassala. Regulations finally changed in 1996 and Coltassala was labelled as Chianti Classico Riserva – today it is labelled as Gran Selezione. For a few years now, Coltassala has been joined by Volpaia’s Il Puro Casanova, another excellent Chianti Classico Gran Selezione. Further south in Gaiole, where the Chianti Classico zone has wider vistas and Montalcino can be glimpsed in the distance, the Ricasoli family runs Castello di Brolio. Their 250ha/618 acres of vineyards have been completely replanted over the past 30 years and subdivided into single parcels. This effort is now crowned by four separate Chianti Classico Gran Selezione wines. There is the Castello di Brolio, a selection of all Ricasoli sites, then there are three single-vineyard wines: Colledilà grown on alberese soils (weathered limes- Lush green vines cover the rolling hills near Panzano in Chianti. < THE CREATION OF THE GRAN SELEZIONE CATEGORY HAS ADDED REAL INTEREST TO CHIANTI CLASSICO AND ATTRACTED NEW FANS. Inset: The famous gallo nero, or black cockerel, is the emblem of Chianti Classico. Below: A place of happiness, the historic cellar at Volpaia houses wines that date back to the 1960s. Photos: Getty Images/Atlantide Phototravel, Shutterstock, Volpaia, Società Agricola Querciabella, Antinori, PISTOLESI Andrea / hemis.fr 38 falstaff mar – jun 2022

Highly commendable: Querciabella farms according to biodynamic principles. tone, Roncicone, grown on fossil limestone and CeniPrimo, grown on well-drained alluvial soils. There are just a few kilometres between the sites, yet these wines show distinct character. A WHOLE NEW DIVERSITY The Mazzei family at Castello di Fonterutoli also produce four different Gran Selezione wines – three of them grown on the ancestral estate. Not only do they hail from three different sites but from three different communes that converge at Fonterutoli. The grapes for the Castello di Fonterutoli wine grow close to the winery in Castellina in Chianti. The Vicoregio 36 Gran Selezione hails from the commune of Vagliagli and expresses a more southerly warmth. Badiòla Gran Selezione grows at an altitude of 570m/1,870ft in the commune of Radda. Then there is the Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Ipsus from the Il Caggio estate in Castellina that the Mazzei family bought in 2006 – all four of them are made from 100 percent Sangiovese grapes – tasting them is like taking a trip through Chianti Classico. The Querciabella estate sits on a plateau above the town of Greve and started < TUSCANY’S BIG PLAYERS, LIKE ANTINORI, RICASOLI AND MAZZEI, GIVE CHIANTI CLASSICO GRAN SELEZIONE THEIR FULL BACKING. converting its vineyards to biodynamic farming methods twenty years ago. A great decision, as oenologist Manfred Ing reports with pride. For years now Querciabella has focused on the production of Chianti Classico and Chianti Classico Riserva. At the beginning of 2022, they also presented a Gran Selezione for the first time – from the 2017 vintage. The biggest player of Tuscan wine, Marchesi Antinori, is also fully convinced by the Gran Selezione category. Their Badia a Passignano wine has been labelled as Gran Selezione from the 2009 vintage onwards (but released later). Renzo Cotarella, general director at Antinori says: “The Badia a Passignano Gran Selezione is the continuation of our ambitious course for quality which began with Tiganello. In the 1970s it was not yet possible to make wines exclusively from Sangiovese. Today, thanks to much better clonal selections, we can make great wines from 100 percent Sangiovese.” Much is afoot in Chianti Classico – and from June 2022 onwards, the new geographical indications will only make the Gran Selezione category even more diverse. A wonderful prospect. < An aerial view of Antinori’s Badia a Passignano – this is where the fine wines mature in deep cellars. In striking contrast to the old abbey, Antinori has built a new winery nearby – a model of contemporary architecture. mar – jun 2022 falstaff 39