Fontodi - Chianti Classico 2019 (750ml)

 
WS
93
WE
94
WA
92
V
93+

Price: $45.00

Sale Price: $38.00

Producer Fontodi
Country Italy
Region Tuscany
Subregion Chianti
Varietal Sangiovese
Vintage 2019
Sku 4880
Size 750ml

Wine Enthusiast: 94 Points

Delicate aromas recalling scorched earth and truffle mingle with mocha and botanical herbs on this 100% Sangiovese. Elegant and enveloping the supple palate features fleshy plum orange zest and baking spice before an espresso finish. Soft tannins offer supple support. Drink through 2024

Wine Spectator: 93 Points

This succulent red is hallmarked by very pure expressions of cherry raspberry violet and mineral. Firmly built with energy and a persistence that extends the fruit tobacco and mineral elements on the finish. Drink now through 2030. 10000 cases made 3000 cases imported. ? BS

Vinous: 93+ Points

The 2019 Chianti Classico is fresh vibrant and so expressive. Aromatic and expansive with terrific nuance the 2019 is one of the most elegant Chianti Classicos I have tasted at Fontodi. Crushed flowers red/purplish fruit spice lavender and pipe tobacco build into the delineated vibrant finish. - By Antonio Galloni on June 2022 Proprietor Giovanni Manetti continues to push his estate into new directions. Readers will note the addition of a new wine the 2019 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Terrazze San Leolino which emerges from vineyards in Panzano near the San Leolino church. It will be followed next year by the Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Pastrolo Manetti?s first estate wine from terraced vineyard in Lamole at 640 meters in elevation. Naturally those wines are works in progress so it will be a few years before they reach the level of the other wines in the range. The dual flagships Vigna del Sorbo and Flaccianello are quite good in 2019 although they don?t reach the level of the finest years. The Chianti Classico always a super-Chianti Classico here is a standout. A reduction of time in small oak along with a final phase of aging in cask and a greater emphasis in freshness overall are the key drives to the Fontodi style these days.

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Wine Advocate: 92 Points

Offering a clear snapshot of the vintage the 2019 Chianti Classico draws its organic fruit only from Panzano from estate vineyards and a few leased parcels in the Conca d'Oro. The bouquet opens to fresh cherry bright rose and other floral nuances. The mineral signature in this wine is strong and serves to give focus and linearity. It offers good flavor intensity to the palate with elegant tannins to finish. Call it a "lockdown illumination" the COVID-19 pandemic years were especially fruitful for Fontodi's Giovanni Manetti. Given time to reflect and walk through his vineyard rows in the amphitheater of postcard-perfect vines known as the Conca d'Oro in Panzano in Chianti Manetti decided it was time to enlarge his portfolio. Specifically he sought an opportunity to better articulate the concept of Chianti Classico Gran Selezione which is in essence a perfect vehicle for a grand cru winemaking philosophy. His existing Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna del Sorbo is a flagship for this highest category of the appellation but alas it represents just one vineyard site. Fruit is sourced from an area with a greater presence of schistous galestro for dark fruit etched mineral notes and pencil shavings. Now that wine can be seen in context. Two new wines the Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Terrazze San Leonlino and the Chianti Classico Pastrolo are now in production. They come from radically different sites and soils. "We now have three wines to match three soils" says Giovanni Manetti from his spacious tasting room while morning sun streams in from the windows. The Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Terrazze San Leonlino comes from a site in Panzano not too far from Vigna del Sorbo. However this little parcel near the San Leonlino country chapel is characterized by limestone alberese that makes fresh wines that are not as dark in character. Equally exciting is the Chianti Classico Pastrolo from old vines in terraced vineyards in high-elevation Lamole. This areas tends to have Macigno Toscano or sandstone. The Conca d'Oro vineyard in Panzano in Chianti has both galestro and alberese with pietraforte (the same hard stone used to build Palazzo Pitti in nearby Florence) at the higher rim of the vineyard. Flaccianello della Pieve is a selection of fruit from various sites with much of it coming from the areas with pietraforte. Giovanni Manetti is pushing the boundaries of Chianti Classico Gran Selezione and he is interested in capturing the freshness and transparency of wines identified by their soils. These efforts are timed to the announcement of the new Chianti Classico UGAs or subzones. I also think this post?COVID era represents an exciting new start for Lamole one of the most remote and untouched villages in the wider Chianti Classico appellation. Cooler growing sites are ideal for wineries looking for alternatives in a warmer climate. If a powerhouse estate such as Fontodi continues to invest in Lamole we will certainly see more interest in the area in the years to come.

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