Posted: Monday, 23 March 2015 12:19

Tuscany Taste 2015: Collection of Chianti Classico Gems

Tasting 500 wines in less than two days and meeting 149 producers in even less time, is a herculean task few dare to achieve but for a lover of Tuscan wines, this is like placing a child in Toys R Us, or closer to home, leaving someone with sweet tooth in a shopping mall selling only sweets to taste as many as possible-and free, but responsibly without churning the stomach.

Chianti Classico production zone spreads from the South of Florence to Siena, encompassing 9 sub-zones within the provinces of Florence (FL) and Siena (SI). Going from North to South these sub-zones are:

It is a heavily exported wine-about 80% of the 35-40 million bottles produced annually are exported to 60 countries,  underlying the importance of this event where the journalists, writers and sommeliers come from across the globe to taste the new vintage being released and hence the name Anteprima for the event. In this case it was 2013-as allowed by law although many producers released only 2012 and will release the 2013 next year.

Black Rooster

Chianti Classico in general is a higher quality wine with a slight premium in price over Chianti. This is because the standards are stricter, costs are higher and the soil etc is considered special by experts and the vineyards are more expensive to acquire, if available at all. To start with, Chianti Classico must have a minimum of 80% Sangiovese. No white grapes are allowed. The key difference is also in the yields-7.5 tonnes/hA as compared to 11 tons for Chianti. It has a minimum of 12.5% alcohol vs. 10.5% for Chianti which can be released on March 1 following the harvest, 7 months before the Black Rooster. Interestingly, Riserva has the same 24 month maturing required before release.

Only Chianti Classico is authorised to use the Black Rooster logo on the bottle. In 2013, the Consorzio redesigned the logo to make it more contemporary and visible. Through a government decree it was allowed to be pasted separately on the neck and not on the government approved label as earlier. Drawing another clear line of demarcation, the production of Chianti was banned in the Chianti Classico zone by law.

However, the confusion prevails on why Chianti Classico is a premium wine and how is it different than Chianti. Not only in India but other countries as well, the consumers do not differentiate between the two and it is a never ending job for this Association of Chianti Classico wine producers to make the consumer aware of the difference.

Gran Selezione

In a bid to enhance the quality perception of Chianti Classico wines, the Consortium innovated and introduced a higher end Gran Selezione as a new category through a government decree and launched the first set of 35 labels last year at Palazzo Vecchio where I had tasted all of them.

This year there were about 60 labels approved to be designated as Gran Selezione. Even though not many people know or understand the concept, particularly in India where even Chianti Classico is considered a rarity because of the lower price point for most Chiantis, the Consorzio is making all out efforts to make the consumer aware by highlighting them at this event and conducting road shows in various countries like the US and Canada.

In a race to include Gran Selezione in the portfolio, many producers rushed their samples to the Consorzio which has appointed a committee to taste and judge them for the suitability for this highest expression of Chianti Classico region. Sergio Zingarelli, President of the Consorzio and owner of the Rocca delle Macie informs,’ each bottle is tasted by the panel after it is found to conform to the legal requirements. About 20% samples were rejected this year by the panel.”

There is still some apprehension among the luxury consumers and producers as well. Some producers like Fontodi and Antinori have simply offered their existing wines as Gran Selezione whereas premium producers like Volpaia mention it on the back label. Some producers are sitting on the fence, watching if and when to join the bandwagon. Silvia Fiorentini, the Marketing and Communications Director of the Consorzio told me in a video chat that they were aware of the problems and hoped they would be sorted out in the following years.

There are some interesting observations as well that make one think if it is not merely a marketing gimmick, as the sceptics assert- especially several journalists I talked to. Ruffino, owned now by the monolithic Constellation Brands produces only 150,000 bottles of Chianti Classico DOCG. But the Gran Selezione is 380,000 bottles! And that too, like many existing labels that joined the bandwagon since they met the criteria-is their existing Riserva Ducale Oro 2010. With many wineries racing to have 2 labels in this category, the hierarchy pyramid may not be as sturdy and conical as it is made to sound.

Tasting with Sommeliers and Producers

With years of experience in conducting the event, the Consorzio has reached a level of perfection. The sheet containing all the 335 wines on offer is given to each taster who has been already provided with the catalogue of the wines in advance and at the venue. He or she can number any 6 bottles at a time and hand over to a battery of Sommeliers who know the wines by heart and taste. In the blink of an eye the wines are served to you at the table where you can taste them undisturbed or in the company of an expert neighbour. This process was on for both the days, till we left for Montepulciano next afternoon at 4 pm.

Tasting with producers has its own charm. During the previous two years there seems to have been an experimentation on the timings but this year the organisers and producers decided that it was important to have one-to-one interaction and had them present on both the days; this seems to be better for the tasters as well. Besides, the customary Anteprima label, most producers carry some of their special wines too for the discerning tasters. A few daring ones also bring the current vintage which was 2014 in this case-not a very promising year. Next year’s anteprima would tell us how the winemakers have been able to handle it.

So far as the organisers are concerned, it was yet another resoundingly successful event of their calendar.

For earlier article please click Tuscany Taste 2014: Chianti Classico Gran Selezione launched in Grand Style

Subhash Arora

Gallery              Video Unplugged - Wines tasted                Chat with Silvia Fiorentini

If you Like this article please click on the Like button