Le Cinciole. Chianti Classico

Chianti Classico DOCG 
Grape: Sangiovese 

A great vintage, immaculate forest-floor fruit, rich and full, genuinely fine.  13%

Le Cinciole producer page

Chianti Classico is a Chianti (an ancient and evolving wine) from the Classico area.  The Classico area is huge and stretches between Firenze and Siena.  There are a number of villages within the area that are noted for fine terroir and Panzano is one.  It is not big, and it is high with a small number of producers, nearly all of whom are organic.  It is a fine template for artisan wine production.

The terroir is galestro, a mixture of soil stones, slate and clays on an east-southeast exposure.  The vineyards are farmed organically, no synthetic treatments are used and a minimum of copper sulphate.  The vines are harvested by hand and the crop de-stemmed, sorted and crushed before a spontaneous fermentation takes place in cement tanks.  The wine is then aged in botti (large 20hl French oak barrels) for 12 months and then a further 12 months in cement tanks before bottling.

Archive

2018: This was a generous vintage, quantity and quality, a relief after 2017.  There is more fruit: ripe black cherry freshened with violet and floral flavours, backed by salt and pomegranate,  An extraordinary wine, harmonious, full and complex

2016: Dark cherry and cassis on the nose, cinnamon, and iron. Deep bramble and sloe, porcini and sweet red berries lift the classic sour cherry character. A pure, fresh, complex and lingering wine.  13.5%