Fontodi Chianti Classico 2019

“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 l have tasted at Fontodi. Crushed flowers, red/purplish fruit, spice, lavender and pipe tobacco build into the delineated, vibrant finish. Drinking window: 2022-2034. 93+ points

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.”

Antonio Galloni, Vinous (07/22)