Chianti Classico 2017: A first look

Michaela Morris brings you an exclusive sneak preview on how the Chianti Classico 2017 vintage is shaping up in the cellar...

Wine regions around the globe will remember 2017 for challenges of almost biblical proportions. From frost, hail, torrid heat, drought and fires, never have extremes been so widespread.

Tuscany did not go unscathed, starting with the frosts that affected much of Europe in late April.

‘In Chianti Classico, the result was a loss of yields in lower altitude vineyards,’ says Sergio Zingarelli, president of the Chianti Classico Consorzio.Spring and summer continued with very little rainfall while temperatures soared. ‘It was one of the driest growing seasons of the last 70 years,’ continues Zingarelli.

In these drought conditions the berries remained small, and bunches weighed less than half on average of what they would normally. Overall, production was down by 27% across the zone.

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At Castello di Gabbiano, winemaker Federico Cerelli estimates even greater losses – as much as 60%. He attributes half of this to frost, which affected one of their most productive vineyards in San Casciano. As for the drought, ‘it was the worst I’d seen in my 18 year career; the vines were in stress for months.’

But it wasn’t all bad news.

With vineyards at altitudes of around 400 metres above sea level, Isole e Olena luckily avoided frost damage. Nevertheless, ‘we still produced 40% less, largely due to the arid conditions,’ owner Paolo de Marchi reveals.

In the area of Lamole, the I Fabbri estate reaches almost 700 metres above sea level. ‘We managed to achieve wines with a lot of freshness due to the large diurnal temperature difference,’ asserts proprietor Susanna Grassi.

When the rain finally arrived in early September, there was some hope of restoring balance. However, by that time, earlier-ripening varieties like Merlot had already been picked and some areas had even harvested Sangiovese because the vines had completely shut down.

‘It will be a good year for top wines like Gran Selezione and Riserva, but a challenging one for the young, fresh wines,’ Cerelli predicts.

The vintage is also poised to fuel Chianti Classico’s sub-zonation debate on whether location of vineyards should contribute to a wine’s character.

The annual Chianti Classico Collection event held in mid-February provided a preview of the 2017 vintage with a tasting of cask samples. The wines are not yet fully formed, so it is still too early to make a definitive quality assessment, but trying them alongside the positively frisky 2016 wines made for a stark contrast.

At this stage, the 2017s exhibit much less aromatic definition. Some wines sport higher acidity than expected, though not the level of preceding years. In others, warming alcohol inevitably popped up.

Green or unripe tannins are also a concern, as Sangiovese struggles to achieve phenolic and sugar ripeness simultaneously at the best of times. Further ageing may smooth out any rough tannins, and the round, ripe fruit will provide some balancing flesh.

The finished wines will be on display in February 2019, and I have no doubt there will be plenty of pleasant surprises. Chianti Classico has made vast strides in viticulture, and growers have previous experience of dealing with intense heat and dryness, in 2012 and 2011.

In the meantime, the focus will be on whatever trials or solace 2018 brings.

Related content published in March and April 2018:

• Full report on the latest Chianti Classico releases by Michaela Morris

• Brunello di Montalcino 2013: Report & top wines

• Brunello Riserva 2012: Report & top wines

• Chianti Classico 2013 & 2014 top tiers: Panel tasting results