2013 Isole e Olena, Chianti Classico, Gran Selezione

The 2013 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione is breathtaking. Beautifully ripe, deep and expressive, the 2013 has it all: deep fruit, stunning aromatic presence and tremendous structure. Black cherry, pomegranate, rose petal, mint and lavender all meld together in this super-expressive, resonant Chianti Classico. An absolutely killer wine, the Gran Selezione is a fabulous, contemporary expression of Chianti Classico at its very finest. Drops of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah round out the blend. Paolo De Marchi gave the 2013 a year in barrique and second year in cask.

Dark, saturated and rich, the 2013 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione delivers savory tones of spice and smoke that are folded into dark fruit, prune and dried blackberry. Despite the darkness of the bouquet, this wine shows tartness and freshness in terms of its flavor profile. There is a lot of Sangiovese typicity here, thanks to the delineated character of those wild berry aromas and the crispness of the wine's natural acidity. In fact, the wine is mostly composed of Sangiovese, although very small percentages of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot are added to the blend. A mere 2,400 bottles were produced.

Barberino Tavarnelle. The current vintage (whereas most producers are offering 2016). Picked well into October after a fairly cool growing season. Rather an unnecessarily heavy bottle. 90% Sangiovese, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Syrah, 1% Petit Verdot grown at 350 – 480 m facing south-west mainly. Soil is a combination of clay-shale ( galestro ) and clay-limestone ( alberese ). Some vines are 50 years old. Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot are fermented in open-topped oak vats, with three to four weeks of maceration with délestage and punching down. Syrah undergoes a short pre-fermentation cold soak in stainless steel with 10 days' maceration before being pressed into barrels with some residual sugar to ferment to dryness very slowly. Not all grapes are destemmed. Only indigenous yeasts before two years in barriques and six months in larger casks. Released only after two years of bottle ageing. Just 2,500 bottles made. Transparent garnet. Hugely complex nose with balsam top notes and notable transparency of fruit underneath. This is definitely high-elevation wine. Quite marked acidity and great finesse. You would be hard put to identify anything other than Sangiovese in here. Builds towards a persistent, elegant finish not unlike a fine red burgundy (if Paolo De Marchi will allow a French comparison). The length of the finish is really quite remarkable. No hurry at all to drink this. (JR)