Gagliole Chianti Classico Riserva 2019
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Chianti Classico Riserva takes things up a notch for a more complete and robust wine, with a rich perfume of pure black cherry, anise, and dried lavender. The palate is equally more concentrated, with medium to full body, fine tannins, and a silky mouthfeel that is long with juicy fruit. This is a pure, clean, sunny wine that is hard to resist now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Only in its second vintage, the certified organic Gagliole 2019 Chianti Classico Riserva addresses the need for a category that sits between the entry-level reds and the high-end Gran Selezione wines. Fruit is sourced exclusively from Panzano for an intense ruby color shaded by elegant darkness. Aromas recall blackberry, graphite, flint and white pepper. This wine prizes freshness, a streamlined mouthfeel and those pretty mineral notes that drive a very long and polished finish.
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James Suckling
Beautiful aromas of roses and other flowers, together with fresh cherries and lemon rind, following through to a medium body with freshness and vivid intensity to the finish. Spicy at the end. From organically grown grapes.
Gagliole is a small gem that captures all of Tuscany’s beauty. Judiciously cultivated and groomed, small tracts of land created elegant geometric figures on either side of the impenetrable hills. Here, at 1,640 feet above sea level, vineyards of Sangiovese mature under the rays of the sun thanks to splendid exposure to the south-southwest. The age of the vines (3-30 years) is a testament to the painstaking process of reintegration that has taken place here.
Monika and Thomas Bar, a noted gallery manager and a Swiss lawyer and banker, respectively, decided to settle in Gagliole in order to return to Tuscany where they met. Over the years, their love of good wine became a true passion that has blossomed into the production of native and international varietals that express the character of their microclimate.
The yellow-brownish color of the soil up close becomes the distinct shades of argillaceous loam: it is the argillite that embraces and nurtures the vines. This mineral-poor soil contains just the right amount of humus to give the wine soft, pleasant tones. The delicate balance between soil and climate is the ideal model for crafting elegant wines that reflect this great winemaking patrimony. The cellar is marked by a balance between the modern and the ancient that allows the fruit to be transformed into a great wine.
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.