Cecchi Chianti Classico Riserva di Famiglia 2013
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Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A firm and silky red with blueberry, blackberry and mint undertones. This is a big wine that grows on the palate. Impressive. Needs time to come together but so much here. A triumph for Cecchi. Better in 2018.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Chianti Classico Riserva di Famiglia is a soft and more elaborate wine with dark cherry nuances followed by spice, leather and pressed violets. That floral element adds a touch of elegant grace. The wines reveals a darkly saturated ruby color and medium rich concentration. The mouthful shows some sweet cherry, but there is also a lot of zesty spice and fresh acidity that comes directly from the Sangiovese. Some 10% of the wine is Colorino and Cabernet Sauvignon.
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Wine Spectator
Elegant and intense, this red evokes black cherry, blackberry, earth and tobacco flavors. An iron streak emerges as the finish stretches out, backed by a vibrant structure. Drink now through 2024. 600 cases imported.
Other Vintages
2017-
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Dunnuck - Decanter
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In the 1970s, Cecchi moved to the borough of Castellina in Chianti, an area which has traditionally produced Chianti Classico. In its cellar, equipped with the latest technology, the final part of the production cycle is carried out. The fermentation operations are carried out at the four commercial vineyards distributed in famous DOC zones in Tuscany and Umbria: Villa Cerna in the Chianti Classico region, Castello di Montauto at San Gimignano, Val delle Rose near Grosseto, and Tenuta Alzatura at Montefalco, in Umbria. Since 2004, following the death of Luigi, his sons Cesare and Andrea, along with their mother Anita, have run the company with enthusiasm and passion.
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.