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2015 Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva

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Latest Sale Price

December 17, 2023 - $41

Estimate

RATINGS

94Wine Spectator

Tight and tannic for now, featuring cherry, black currant, leather, iron, juniper and tar flavors. Firmly structured, meaty and balanced on the tannic side, with a lingering finish.

92+ Vinous / IWC

The 2015 Chianti Classico Riserva is bold, ample and powerful, with a real sense of breadth in this vintage. The tannins need time to soften, as the wine is a bit burly at this stage. This is another stellar release for a wine that routinely overachieves its peer group and price. Dense and packed, with tremendous structure, the 2015 has a lot to say...

90The Wine Advocate

The 2015 Chianti Classico Riserva opens to dark color richness and savory aromas. There is black fruit at the core of this wine, but the aromatic contours also embrace fleeting tones of smoked bacon, dark spice and garden potting soil. You feel the heat and exuberance of the vintage in the mouth, especially where soft fruit fiber is contrasted against the natural energy and acidic brightness of the Sangiovese grape (blended with 10% Canaiolo and Colorino in this case).

REGION

Italy, Tuscany, Chianti Classico

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.”

TYPE

Red Wine, Sangiovese, D.O.C.G.

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.”