Casa Emma Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2017
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Spectator
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James -
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Wine
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Very elegant wine with an amazing nose and with impressive structure and balance. Medium bodied is red fruited, satiny on the palate, with cheeky acids that effortlessly support the rich Sangiovese fruit., rendering this a Burgundian expression of the grape and place.
Pair with pappardelle all'anatra and slow roasted lamb.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Bright raspberry, strawberry and cherry flavors grace this supple red, with tar, mineral and tobacco notes emerging as it evolves on the palate. There's no shortage of structure, courtesy of the lively acidity and dense tannins. Combines freshness with muscle. Best from 2024 through 2042.
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James Suckling
There’s real purity of fruit here, with cherries, oranges and flowers on the nose. Some cranberries, too. It’s medium-bodied with lovely depth and a fine-tannined texture. Persistent finish. Delicious and energetic now, but even better in a couple of years.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of oak, scorched earth and camphor form the nose along with whiffs of sandalwood and violet. The linear, medium-bodied palate shows dried cherry, coffee bean and licorice framed in tightly wound, fine-grained tannins. Give the firm tannins another year or two to unwind, then drink sooner rather than later to capture the remaining fruit. Drink after 2024.
Other Vintages
2018-
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James
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Robert - Decanter
The Bucalossi family bought the estate from the Florentine noblewoman Emma Bizzarri. They have maintained the name “Casa Emma” respecting the historical roots of the land.
The particular attention paid to the terroir allows Casa Emma to offer a range of Chianti Classico, Chianti Classico Riserva and Soloìo (single grape Super-Tuscan Merlot). At the heart of Chianti Classico territory, at an altitude of 1380 feet above sea level, the vineyards of Casa Emma are a classic example of the charms of the Chianti countryside.
Casa Emma grows a number of “non-local” grape varieties, such as Merlot or other more traditional varieties such as Malvasia and Canaiolo, but the principal variety used is Sangiovese, one of the oldest Italian grape varieties forming the very foundation of traditional Chianti and Chianti Classico wines.
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.