Chianti Classico Gran Selezione: New releases in 2023

At the apex of Chianti Classico’s quality pyramid, Gran Selezione continues to garner most of the denomination’s attention, disproportionate to its 6% share of the region’s total production.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top-scoring new Chianti Classico Gran Selezione releases

Yet it’s difficult not to be transfixed, as the number of new Gran Selezione bottlings has increased considerably in the last couple of years. There are a host of reasons for this, exemplified by several of my recommended wines such as Brancaia, Arillo’s Terrabianca, Riecine’s Vigna Gittori, and Le Cinciole’s Aluigi. Conversations with many other producers promise even more new Gran Selezione to come.

‘I believe that the tasting panel of the Gran Selezione had to find its way and now there is a different mindset behind the profile,’ says Sofia Ruhne at Terreno. Though her A Sofia bottling – an elegant wine that faithfully interprets its terroir – was rejected in earlier vintages due lack of structure and colour, she decided to submit it again in 2019 and was accepted.

UGAs

The other carrot is the pending launch of the region’s Unità Geografiche Aggiuntive (UGA), which translates as ‘Additional Geographical Units’. Chianti Classico has divided its vast territory of 70,000 hectares into 11 subzones. During February’s Chianti Classico anteprime tastings in Florence, the Minister of Agriculture signalled a green light for the UGA project, and all that is missing now is for the bill to be legally published.

The forecast is that by July 2023, producers will be permitted to name one of Chianti Classico’s 11 subzones – Castellina, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Gaiole, Greve, Lamole, Montefioralle, Panzano, Radda, San Casciano, San Donato in Poggio, and Vagliagli – on corresponding labels of Gran Selezione wines.

In tandem with this is the timely release of Alessandro Masnaghetti’s new Chianti Classico atlas in which he maps out each UGA in painstaking detail. It’s an invaluable tool for Chianti Classico afficionados as well as producers – on more than one estate visit, owners corrected how they described the soils of their sites based on Masnaghetti’s work. Hopefully this will bring a common language to one of Italy’s most complex territories.

Approval of the UGA has been met with palpable excitement, especially since it was a long time coming. However, it doesn’t come without some criticism. ‘The UGA should be for all Chianti Classico wines because Gran Selezione represents just a small portion of its production,’ declares Stefano Capurso at Dievole. He is not alone in his sentiment, and there’s a collective belief that the UGA will eventually be extended to qualifying Riserva and annata bottlings. But first things first…

Emphasis on Sangiovese

The other update to the Gran Selezione category is the exclusion of international grape varieties and an increased minimum percentage of Sangiovese from 80% to 90%. Producers will be given a few years to fall in line with the new regulations and some, such as San Felice, have adjusted the blend in anticipation: the estate’s newly released 2019 Il Grigio Gran Selezione will be the last with 80% Sangiovese, increasing to 90% with the 2020 vintage.

See all 135 wines from Michaela’s Chianti Classico new releases report

Other producers do not intend to change the composition of their wines. A pioneering estate of single-vineyard bottlings in 1978, Castello di Ama has long included a healthy dose of Merlot and/or Malvasia Nera. ‘If we are forced to no longer call them Gran Selezione, we will adapt with some regret,’ says Lorenza Sebasti. In the meantime, the estate’s 2019 San Lorenzo, still a Gran Selezione for now, is an excellent representation of the vintage and this top category.

Gran Selezione new releases

Developments and controversies aside, Chianti Classico’s new releases of Gran Selezione are a testament to the top-notch quality in the region. And, with the addition of many new wines championing varied styles and speaking to Chianti Classico’s diversity, this category has become more dynamic.

A small sampling of less than a dozen from 2020 was just a preview of what the vintage will offer at this level. Castello di Fonterutoli and Famiglia Zingarelli produced their best ever bottlings of Badiòla and Tenuta Fizzano respectively, while both Fontodi’s Vigna del Sorbo and Riecine’s Vigna Gittori shone, as they did in 2019. In general, gracious structures and expressive flavours suggest the 2020 Gran Selezione will offer loads of enjoyment over next 10 years.

A couple of dozen 2019s provided a deeper dive into this fresher vintage. As with their Riserva counterparts, not all the Gran Selezione manage to balance the slender fruit with their oak and tannin frames, however, the most successful are succulent, detailed and tightly structured. Capraia’s Effe 55, Terreno’s Sillano, and Castello di Meleto’s Vigna Poggiarso stand alongside the top 2019s released last year. Conte Caponi’s trio also deserves a tip of the hat.

Late-release Gran Selezione this year harked back even further than 2019, with worthy entries including Querciabella’s second ever Gran Selezione from 2018, and Castello di Radda’s Vigna Il Corno from the challenging 2017 vintage. Last but not least is Il Palazzino’s 2016 Grosso Sanese, which started out as a Vino da Tavola in the 1980s and now sits in the top category of Chianti Classico’s pyramid; a symbol of this ever-evolving denomination.

New Chianti Classico releases 2023: Top scoring Gran Selezione

Read Michaela’s other Chianti Classico 2023 reports:

Chianti Classico Annata: New releases in 2023

Chianti Classico Riserva: New releases in 2023

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