Chianti Classico latest releases: Full report

Walking into Florence’s cavernous Stazione Leopolda to taste Chianti Classico’s new releases is simultaneously thrilling and overwhelming. The old train station transformed into an event space is a fitting venue for this prolific appellation. It easily holds all 200 participating producers presenting a collective total of 740 wines across all categories – annata, riserva and gran selezione – spanning vintages back to 2012.

I started my tastings with a first comprehensive look at the newly released 2018 annata. If 2017 can be characterised by drought, 2018 was shaped by rain. After a trio of dry vintages, the abundant rainfall of 2018 was in some respects a relief. ‘It enabled the vines to recover from the dramatic water situation,’ says Marco Ricasoli-Firidolfi, proprietor of Rocca di Montegrossi.

The unsettled weather persisted with reoccurring storms through to the end of August. Downpours were interspersed with sunshine but overall temperatures were lower than average. September stabilised with hot sunny days leading to harvest starting in mid-September and continuing to mid-October.

While this neatly summarises the growing season, it is a rather sweeping generalisation for such a diverse region. Above all, rainfall was not uniform throughout all of Chianti Classico’s nooks and crannies. ‘In the same day, it could rain 10mm in San Casciano but not at all in Radda, or vice versa,’ explains Federico Cerelli, winemaker at Castello di Gabbiano. He reports 60mm of rainfall in San Casciano for the month of August while Piero Lanza, owner of Poggerino, calculated almost 200mm in Radda.

‘There was always a lot of humidity which led certain zones of Chianti Classico to harvest early due to fear of botrytis,’ continues Cerelli. Earlier-picked grapes tended to be swollen from the August rains, resulting in less concentrated wines. Other areas were less afflicted. ‘In Panzano, it didn’t rain that much so this wasn’t a problem,’ says Giovanni Manetti, owner of Fontodi, who describes his 2018s as ‘rich and powerful’.

See all Chianti Classico latest release tasting notes here

2018 and 2019 vintages

With a few exceptions, most of the 2018 annata I tried were rather soft and slender in structure. However, they are absolutely charming and lithe with beautiful, well-focused aromas and flavours. These will give enormous pleasure in the short term, which is highly appropriate for this category. It is very possible that more robust examples will be released next year. More telling will be how this vintage plays out at the riserva and gran selezione levels, which won’t make an appearance until 2021.

It was virtually impossible for producers to talk about 2018 without weighing it against 2019. The enthusiasm for the latter was unmistakable. ‘Our oenologist Carlo Ferrini says it is probably the greatest vintage that he has ever seen,’ exclaims Alessandro Campatelli, winemaker at Riecine.

After cold damp weather in late spring delayed the vine’s cycle substantially, summer conditions were ideal. It was very warm without extremes, rainfall was moderate and September boasted significant differences between day and night temperatures. Harvest lasted from the end of September to mid-October.

‘We were able to pick every parcel at the right moment – slowly and calmly – and weren’t worried about over-ripeness,’ asserts Laura Bianchi at Castello di Monsanto.

However, as with 2018, it appears that conditions in Chianti Classico’s diverse sectors varied. Both Michael Schmelzer at Monte Bernardi in Panzano and Michele Braganti at Monteraponi in Radda noted that in 2019, the grapes ripened very rapidly at the end.

‘The trick was getting everything in at the appropriate ripeness to keep balance and elegance,’ says Schmelzer. Braganti even expresses a slight preference for 2018 over 2019, though he describes both as ‘classic’.

Preferences aside, it is clear that 2018 and 2019 are very different vintages. Moreover, neither is homogenous in personality across the territory. More than ever, the time is ripe to officially recognise Chianti Classico’s sub-zones in order to communicate the region’s diversity. Manetti, who is also the president of the consortium, assures me that this is still a work in progress.

2017 vintage

Chianti Classico’s 2020 Collection also afforded the opportunity to taste for the first time the riserva and gran selezione from torrid 2017 vintage. While there isn’t the embarrassment of riches that 2015 and 2016 continue to offer, it definitely isn’t a write-off. As with the annata, I found balance and surprising acidity in the best wines. Cooler sites, older vines, keen vineyard management and skilled winemaking all played a role. Picking time was crucial and those who were able to wait until after the early September rains had a better chance of bringing in balanced fruit.

Many producers made their top selections in 2017, albeit often in smaller quantities. Others, such as Castello di Ama crafted just a single gran selezione. Overall, these wines won’t have the longevity of top vintages but the most successful will drink well over the next decade. Alas, there are still a number of unnecessarily heavily oaked wines, especially at the gran selezione level. These stood out even more awkwardly than in the more forgiving previous two vintages.

All in all, the quality of Chianti Classico’s new releases is very high. There were a number of thrillingly good wines and the only overwhelming aspect was not having the time to taste more.

Michaela Morris’ top scoring Chianti Classico wines

See all Chianti Classico latest release tasting notes here