Best Chianti Classico Riserva 2018 plus late releases

<p>Michael Schmelzer’s Sa’etta is a single-vineyard bottling from 50-plus-year-old vines planted on Panzano’s pietraforte, a quartz-rich sandstone with hardened limestone. It plumbs Tuscany’s landscape unearthing baked clay, sundried fruit and fragrant garden herbs. It reaches earthy tea depths and cherry-scented heights. Terracotta-textured tannins wrap around the palate and a savoury, umami tang leaves you salivating. It displays exquisite Sangiovese purity and is so light on its feet. And it just keeps getting better in the glass.</p>

<p>A selection of the smallest bunches from the estate’s oldest plot, Poggerino’s Riserva sees a long 50-day maceration and ageing in large Slavonian oak casks. It emerges from its shell with beguiling aromas of cedar, sandalwood, iron, smoke and wet stone, evoking the rocky, forest-encircled estate high up in Radda. The palate packs ample concentration with a sweet ripeness to the fruit and silky suppleness to the layered tannins. Youthful exuberance is currently masking its more subtle charms, but it shouldn’t take long to mellow into its groove.</p>

<p>San Giusto’s Riserva is a selection of grapes based on ripeness as well as bunch and berry dimensions. In 2017, the estate managed to hold off harvesting until after the desperately needed, refreshing early-September rains. This has a lot of everything: intense aromas, ripe flavours, a weighty mouthfeel, rich fruit, dense chalky tannins, heady alcohol, and even concentrated acidity. Somehow, these are all gracefully aligned but it makes for a powerful package. Open according to your preference - I would prefer to wait another year, giving time for all the elements to mellow and meld further.</p>

<p>From a single-vineyard atop a hill in the middle of a valley, this windy site sees significant day and nighttime temperature differences and boasts an iron-rich soil. An understated wine with a savoury mineral character, this somewhat defies the vintage. Accents of forest brush, wild sage and sunbaked dusty earth are subtle. Midweight yet tight and firm, the palate offers inner-mouth perfume of pomegranate and orange. It's rather sneaky and energetic, with a mouthful of crushed stones on the finish.</p>

<p>Roberto Bianchi has produced a splendid 2017 Riserva, crafted from 40- to 45-year-old vines facing north to northeast at 450 metres above sea level in the cool reaches of Radda. Heather, truffles, red currants and iron waft attractively from the glass. It is slightly fleshier than usual but remains its lovely tactile self with long, sandy tannins. The core is juicy and saline, and ferrous notes repeat on the long finish, along with lingering peppery juniper.</p>

<p>Produced since 1967, Volpaia’s Riserva is a selection of bunches from throughout the estate’s 43 hectares in the township of Radda. Due to the slow start in 2018, harvest began a few days later than average, taking place during the first two weeks of October. With purity and precision, strawberry, tobacco, vanilla and forest earth emerge from the glass. This is well-proportioned and balanced in ripeness with a core of concentrated red cherry. Fresh acidity props it up and smooth, rounded tannins frame the whole.</p>

<p>Sergioveto is a reinvention of sorts. While it used to be an IGT blend of international grapes with Sangiovese, as of 2015 it is a single-vineyard Chianti Classico Riserva crafted exclusively from Sangiovese and aged in large French oak barrels. I applaud the new direction here: assertive and characterful, the 2018 exhibits pepper and rosemary with compelling notes of lavender and iris poking though. It is unpretentious, balanced and speaks of the vintage. Dusty, clayey tannins frame the palate and inner-mouth perfume of fennel, anise and orange give lovely lift. Alas, just 6,600 bottles made.</p>

<p>Monsanto’s 72 hectares of vineyards are divided into distinct parcels, each vinified and aged separately. The Riserva is the result of a collaborative tasting and blending conducted by owner Laura Bianchi, her father Fabrizio, and Andrea Giovannini, the estate’s oenologist since 2001. Striking and penetrating in its aromas, the 2017 flaunts juniper, spiced strawberry, currant, cedar and iron. While these echo in the mouth, the palate is still a bit austere and angular, with sinewy tannins - all the better for ageing. There is plenty of freshness here as well, and it finishes with loads of clove and star anise.</p>