Dievole Novocento Chianti Classico Riserva: 25 vintages tasted

Two capons, three loaves of bread and six Luccan coins of good quality silver was the going rate in 1090 to rent the ‘divine valley’ vineyard in Castelnuovo Berardenga for one year. An old parchment scroll from Dievole was found in the Siena State Archives and tells the story of this estate’s origins, when this part of Chianti Classico was populated by Benedictine monks.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Dievole Novocento 1990 – 2019

Flagship Riserva, Novocento (‘nine hundred’), was born in 1990 to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the property. At the end of October 2022, this wine was released in its latest 2019 version, which I tasted alongside the previous 29 vintages in a historical vertical tasting (you can find 25 tasting notes below).

Before the arrival of Chianti Classico’s Gran Selezione, the Riserva category to which Novecento belongs was considered the peak of ‘Gallo Nero’ production. In Italy, a majority of mature consumers and traditional Chianti Classico lovers are still very attached to this category, and I must confess the same affection – maybe because the greatest old bottles of Gallo Nero are almost always Riserva and possess a type of emotion that is hard to forget.

About Dievole

The Dievole estate expands across 600 hectares in Vagliagli in the southwest of the Chianti Classico region, of which 152ha are planted to vines – including 100ha of Sangiovese. The vineyards occupy the valley slopes which range between 300 and 450 metres above sea level.

There was no osteria or trattoria in Florence that didn’t have Novocento on their wine list in the 1990s. And then something happened. Today, it would be mistaken to think of Dievole as one of those outdated estates, anchored to old paradigms or hackneyed marketing schemes. In fact, the opposite is true. Suffice to say that two of the greatest technicians of the wine world, Alberto Antonini and Pedro Parra arrived here almost 10 years ago. They were not shy in admitting the disaster they found when taking over the estate.

‘It was like walking on the moon,’ recalled Antonini, referring to the poor state of the vineyard soils upon his arrival. ‘In 2012, when I was scouting vineyards in Tuscany for Alejandro Bulgheroni’s investments, I was astonished by the quality of the soils at Dievole but they were completely gone due to the severe use of chemicals. However, in our evaluation we looked at what we could change.’

Stefano Capurso, executive president of ABFV [Alejandro Bulgheroni Family Vineyards] Group Italia, which owns Dievole, explained that ‘the estate had been on the market for over five years and the management had this sort of temporary approach.’

Even in its glorious past Dievole was not outdated, being for example one of the first estates to introduce international grapes to blend with Sangiovese in Chianti Classico. Nevertheless, in 2013 a page was turned, and a new story began – that vintage represents the first of the Bulgheroni-Antonini era.

Novocento: How it’s made

In Novecento Riserva, Sangiovese is blended with 5% of Canaiolo and Colorino. The grapes are not fully destemmed, and fermentation begins spontaneously with wild yeasts in cement vats. Maceration, which is managed by tasting of the must, lasts for 15 to 20 days. A small proportion of ‘stretto’ (pressed wine, rather than free-run juice) is also used in the blend. Malolactic fermentation and maturation occurs in untoasted large French oak botti for around 17 months.

‘We manage the grapes like a well-bred calf, but all that meat is not fillet,’ said Alberto Antonini, ‘and we designed a map of micro-terroirs which are vinified separately, giving impressive results.’ The style of the most recent vintages is a declaration of authenticity, particularly clear in vintages such as 2016 and 2019.

Dievole Novocento 1990 – 2019

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