Vintage report: Tuscany
30 of the best new releases from Montalcino and Chianti Classico. By Michaela Morris
Among our 30 highlights from Tuscany’s most recently released vintages are high-scoring wines from producers who managed the heat well in Montalcino, and great quality, character and value at all levels in Chianti Classico
Confusion reigned earlier this year, and there had been no confirmation that any of the annual Tuscan anteprima tastings would be able to take place or that international travel would be allowed. In a normal year I would spend a couple of weeks touring the region, visiting producers and attending the tastings of Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wines. So, with the help of Canadian importers and the producers in Italy themselves, I was able to amass a large selection of wines at my base in Vancouver, Canada, tasting through nearly 300 wines in all.
You can find the full, in-depth reports online at decanter.com/tuscany-1 – a fantastic dive into each of Tuscany’s major denominations and their most recent-release wines, with more than 260 notes and scores in total. Here, we focus in on Brunello di Montalcino and Chianti Classico, highlighting 30 of my highest-scoring and top-value wine selections.
BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2016
Vintage rating: 5/5
‘If we could control the weather by thermostat, 2016 is exactly how we would set it,’ declares Francesco Ripaccioli at Canalicchio di Sopra. Warm but not excessive, with sufficient well-timed precipitation and significant diurnal temperature differences, the 2016 vintage offers structured, ageworthy wines with profound depth, soaring acidity and plenty of drinking pleasure.
Although it was less extreme in heat than the vintages either side, 2016 follows the general warming trend in Montalcino. Of note, as of 2016, vineyards above 600m – previously deemed unsuitable for ripening Sangiovese – have been admitted into the denomination. Mostly in the Passo del Lume Spento area, these currently represent a minuscule percentage of plantings.
Montalcino’s savviest growers have been adjusting to increasing temperatures over a number of years. Strategies include de-leafing later in the season, keeping ground cover in alternate rows and cropping at slightly higher yields. Argiano and some other estates are replanting at lower densities in an effort to curb over-concentration. As benevolent as Mother Nature was in 2016, the high quality achieved by many Montalcino estates is due in part to such efforts in the vineyard.
Tasting the now bottled 2016s was an absolute pleasure. I love the vintage’s freshness of acidity – the wines ring out as clear as a bell. The tannins are formidable but not stern. Alas, a few were surprisingly lean and lacking, while others were overly brawny and heady in alcohol. Nonetheless, there were many fantastic examples offering extraordinary depth, detail and balance. The 2016 vintage demonstrated Montalcino’s varied terroir, with wines speaking clearly of its diverse sectors.
While the 2016s don’t have the immediate accessibility that characterised 2015, you don’t have to wait long to enjoy them: I wouldn’t turn down a glass of the wines from Altesino or Ciacci Piccolomini in the near future. In the same breath, the 2016s possess the density of fruit, piercing acidity and emphatic tannins to age.
They can be tucked away for a couple of decades, some even longer: I would bank on Fuligni, Il Marroneto’s Madonna delle Grazie, Il Poggione and Le Chiuse for the long haul.
When a vintage like this comes along, producers rightly revel in it. And, with so many impressive wines, Brunello lovers should absolutely buy up. ▶
‘2016 offers structured, ageworthy wines with profound depth, soaring acidity and plenty of drinking pleasure’
BRUNELLO RISERVA 2015
In 2015, the warm, sunny and dry conditions produced an abundant crop of healthy and ripe grapes. ‘It isn’t a year with defects from the warmth – only merits,’ says Ripaccioli. With ample fruit and plentiful ripe tannins, ‘2015 was a year extremely suited to ageing’, according to Andrea Costanti of Conti Costanti.
The 40 Brunello Riserva 2015 wines I sampled included many of the region’s top producers. Overall quality was impressive. Often touted as ‘a selection of the best grapes’, while not all were better, some – such as La Màgia, Sesta di Sopra and Sesti – were an appropriate step up. Tasted alongside the 2016s, the Riserva 2015s held their own in terms of acidity – not as racy, but still succulent.
A handful demonstrated shortcomings of the vintage – a lack of precision, noticeable alcohol or ungainly oak. The least successful will be best in the short term. Top wines such as Conti Costanti and Fuligni will show better after a few years. Hardly any, however, were patently backward – Gianni Brunelli and Livio Sassetti being two such exceptions. Above all, on display was the charm and generosity of the 2015 vintage. There is much to like among the Brunello Riserva 2015 wines, but as always, discernment is key.
CHIANTI CLASSICO
In the DOCG’s three-tier classification, the first-rung annata wines require 12 months of ageing before release. As numerous estates choose to age theirs longer, I sized up 2019 while revisiting 2018. Sitting between high-calibre annata level and ambitious Gran Selezione at the top, the Riserva category in some respects has a bit of an identity crisis. While I don’t feel that Riserva always guarantees a step up from annata, I do believe that many Riservas approach the level of Gran Selezione. Above all, among both the
2017 and 2018 vintages tasted, there are plenty of Riserva wines with a well-defined identity.
Chianti Classico’s Gran Selezione classification is inevitably fraught with high expectations. There’s no doubt that some of the DOCG’s top wines sit at this level, while others – although adhering to the letter of the law – don’t seem to add anything to the idea of being the highestquality classification.
In tasting both the 2018 and 2019 vintages, most patently obvious is the overall quality of the annata category. It is a treasure trove of value for money, but the wines should not simply be considered as ‘entry level’. These are arguably Chianti Classico’s most transparent wines, with an immediate ability to demonstrate the intricate differences of altitude, latitude, exposure and soil of the region’s diverse terroir.
‘The annata category is a treasure trove of value for money – arguably Chianti Classico’s most transparent wines’
On the one hand, overperforming annata bottlings from 2018 and 2019 eclipse the handful of underperforming Riserva. This may be due in part to the fact that some producers don’t even make a Riserva, instead crafting an annata that essentially meets the production standards for a Riserva. Marco Ricasoli-Firidolfi at Rocca di Montegrossi (above) is among those who skip the Riserva level. ‘I find there is little difference between Riserva and Gran Selezione,’ he explains, referring to ageing requirements of 24 versus 30 months respectively.
Conversely, Riserva also includes many of the denomination’s finest wines. Among these are wines from producers who eschew the Gran Selezione classification, declaring their top Chianti Classico as a Riserva.