2018 Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva

Castello di Monsanto is in the Val d’Elsa in Tuscany. The 175-acre estate was acquired in 1960 by Aldo Bianchi. By 1962 his son Fabrizio started making wine on the estate and in the 1980s the cellar and winemaking facilities were significantly renovated. The estate, still owned and run by the Bianchi family, is the Chianti appellation. Besides Sangiovese wines it also produces Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon-blended Super Tuscans. About 400,000 bottles are produced annually. Gambero Rosso has often awarded 3 Glass awards – the highest the journal gives – to the estate’s Chianti. Gambero Rosso’s reviewer writes: “We have grown accustomed to the consistently fine continuity of the wines, which are very land-rooted in character, without stinting on extremely sophisticated, precise execution.”

Chianti is Tuscany’s most famous and historic wine district, and the Chianti Classico DOCG is the most prestigious Chianti appellation. Fittingly, it is located in the heart of the larger Chianti DOCG. Chianti’s wines were so esteemed during the Renaissance that the Medici princes of Florence designated several villages within the Chianti region as discrete production zones, setting up the first appellations in Italy. By the 20th century Chianti was Italy’s primary wine export. But the pizza parlor Chiantis sent to foreign markets were inexpensive, unremarkable reds presented in round-bottomed, straw-covered bottles. To upgrade Chianti wines and the region’s image, the Chianti Classico DOC was created in 1967, then upgraded to DOCG status in 1984, with additional modifications made in 1996. In the last 20 years a consortium of Chianti Classico producers have researched new Sangiovese clones, replanted vineyards, updated cellar practices and generally made Chianti Classico DOCG a world-class appellation. Chianti Classico must contain a minimum of 75% Sangiovese. In the 2014 edition of its annual compendium of wine ratings, Gambero Rosso noted that Chianti Classico DOCG wines were noteworthy for their “significant return to a more defined style, true to tradition.”

This red grape is largely grown in central Italy. As the sole component or in a blend, it gives us Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino and Super Tuscans, among other favorites wines. The name is derived from the Latin for “blood of Jove.”