1999 Querciabella Chianti Classico

Querciabella was established in 1974 and is today owned by Sebastiano Cossia Castiglioni, an entrepreneur with a background in business, industrial design, real estate and sustainable agriculture. The estate was an early adopter of biodynamic winemaking and has been chemical-free since 1988. Its 183 vineyard acres are in Greve, Panzano, Radda and Gaiole, prime Chianti Classico territory. Querciabella, which means “beautiful oak tree,” also owns 79 vineyard acres in Maremma on the Tuscan coast. The estate produces five wines from the Chianti Classico zone, including white and red blends. The estate’s DOCG wine is the flagship Querciabella 100% Sangiovese. The estate also produces red blends in the Maremma and a Cabernet Franc/Syrah/Merlot blend called Turpino from Maremma and Chianti fruit. Castiglioni’s approach to non-traditional blends makes him part of a modern Italian winemaking trend that eschews sticking strictly to traditional appellation regulations regarding blending and the use of non-traditional grapes. Vinous has complimented Castiglioni “for being the first Chianti Classico producer to make a concerted effort to showcase the personalities of specific sites: the quest to explore and understand the uniqueness of various sites, and to bottle wines from those vineyards so that we might understand their intrinsic qualities.”

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.”