Antinori Badia a Passignano Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2016
-
Suckling
James - Decanter
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Spirits
Wine & -
Enthusiast
Wine
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Badia a Passignano 2016 is ruby red in color. On the nose it expresses aromas of red fruit, cherries and morello cherries combined with intense yet delicate floral notes and white chocolate. The palate is rich, lively and balanced with supple, velvety tannins that give the wine elegance, great character and excellent persistence of flavors.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
This is a wonderful pure sangiovese with wet earth, mushrooms, pine and cedar with black cherries. Full body. Dense and layered with ripe tannins, yet there’s vivid and energetic acidity. It drives to the end and pulls you in. Top stuff. Drink or hold.
-
Decanter
Badia a Passignano's 65 hectares sit at 300 metres above sea level on limestone rich clay in the area of San Casciano Val di Pesa. A selection of the best bunches of Sangiovese, the 2016 Gran Selezione is gorgeous, yet discreet rather than flashy. It is also immediately appealing with lovely clarity of red cherry and violets. Savoury hints of iron and stone emerge on the palate. This boasts silky sophisticated tannins, a tactile powdery texture, beautifully integrated oak and vibrant acidity. A elegantly balanced package. Drinking Window 2020 - 2032
-
Wine Spectator
A lush, round version, featuring milk chocolate hints and cherry, plum, almond and earth flavors. Dense, with dusty tannins. The vibrant acidity keeps all the elements defined on the lingering aftertaste. Best from 2023 through 2037.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Badia a Passignano is one of the last vineyards to mature and one of the first to start, so it always has a very long growing cycle. The spring began with good weather with budbreak coming about ten days early, followed by a cool, early summer and a hot August. The Sangiovese-based 2016 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Badia a Passignano shows some real ripeness on the close with more red and purple fruit rather than black fruit characteristics. This is a very traditional expression of the Tuscan grape and the least international of Marchesi Antinori's offerings. It's the kind of classic Sangiovese that belongs on the table next to a pappardelle with your favorite ragù.
-
Wine & Spirits
This wine shows a richer side of the 2016 vintage, with dense flavors of black cherry and dried currant layered with notes of braised fennel and cacao gained during aging in barrels (mostly Hungarian oak). For all of its dark flavors and dense texture, the wine remains lively and balanced, brightened by scents of lavender, menthol, basil and thyme. The flavors speak deeply of Tuscany, though with a modern accent.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of coconut, botanical herb, wild berry and oak-driven spice are front and center. The oak sensations carry over to the firm, rather austere palate along with sour cherry, raw coffee bean and licorice set against close-grained tannins. Drink 2022–2031.
Other Vintages
2019-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Spirits
Wine & -
Suckling
James
-
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Spirits
Wine & -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James - Decanter
-
Spectator
Wine
-
Spectator
Wine -
Suckling
James - Decanter
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Spirits
Wine &
-
Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spirits
Wine &
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Panel
Tasting -
Spectator
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine
The Antinori family has been committed to the art of winemaking for over six centuries since 1385 when Giovanni di Piero Antinori became a member of the "Arte Fiorentina dei Vinattieri," the Florentine Winemaker’s Guild. All throughout its history, twenty-six generations long, the Antinori family has managed the business directly making innovative and sometimes bold decisions while upholding the utmost respect for traditions and the environment.
Today, Albiera Antinori is the president of Marchesi Antinori with the continuous close support of her two sisters, Allegra and Alessia, all actively involved in first person in the business. Their father, Marchese Piero Antinori, is the current Honorary President of the company. Tradition, passion, and intuition are the three driving forces that led Marchesi Antinori to establish itself as one of the most important winemakers of elite Italian wine. The company is one of the Founding Members of the "Associazione Marchi Storici d’Italia," an association for the protection, support and promotion of Italian historical brands.
The family’s historical heritage lies in their estates in Tuscany and Umbria, however over the years they have invested in many other areas, both in Italy and abroad, well known for producing high quality wine, opening new opportunities to appreciate and develop unique new terroirs with great winemaking potential. Each vintage, each plot of land, each new idea to be advanced is a new beginning, a new pursuit for achieving higher quality standards. As Marchese Piero loves to say "Ancient family roots play an important part in our philosophy but they have never hindered our innovative spirit."
Among Italy's elite red grape varieties, Sangiovese has the perfect intersection of bright red fruit and savory earthiness and is responsible for the best red wines of Tuscany. While it is best known as the chief component of Chianti, it is also the main grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and reaches the height of its power and intensity in the complex, long-lived Brunello di Montalcino. Somm Secret—Sangiovese doubles under the alias, Nielluccio, on the French island of Corsica where it produces distinctly floral and refreshing reds and rosés.
One of the first wine regions anywhere to be officially recognized and delimited, Chianti Classico is today what was originally defined simply as Chianti. Already identified by the early 18th century as a superior zone, the official name of Chianti was proclaimed upon the area surrounding the townships of Castellina, Radda and Gaiole, just north of Siena, by Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany in an official decree in 1716.
However, by the 1930s the Italian government had appended this historic zone with additonal land in order to capitalize on the Chianti name. It wasn’t until 1996 that Chianti Classico became autonomous once again when the government granted a separate DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) to its borders. Ever since, Chianti Classico considers itself no longer a subzone of Chianti.
Many Classicos are today made of 100% Sangiovese but can include up to 20% of other approved varieties grown within the Classico borders. The best Classicos will have a bright acidity, supple tannins and be full-bodied with plenty of ripe fruit (plums, black cherry, blackberry). Also common among the best Classicos are expressive notes of cedar, dried herbs, fennel, balsamic or tobacco.