The Chianti Classico Collection, 2019 edition (11-12 February) closes amid critical applause.
Extraordinary turnout for the 26th edition of an event that is becoming a lot popular and which this year, for the first time, has also opened its doors to non-experts insiders.
Almost 200 producers gathered at the Stazione Leopolda in Florence and brought their latest vintages: around 800 labels for tasting.
Chianti Classico today increasingly focuses on individual terroirs and according to sommelier Andrea Gori it is precisely thanks to this far-sighted investment in specificity that today "there is no Italian wine that out of the 30 million bottles manages to show off such a high average quality ".
If the characteristic element of the Chianti landscape are the rows of vines alternating with olive groves , the morphology and geology of the territory are extraordinarily rich in variables: within a few hundred meters there are different soils, which produce wines with different taste-olfactory ranges . Chianti Classico has many expressions, many terroirs and many protagonists , all elements which in their sincerity and elegance predispose to a sensorial analysis of great value.
There are three types of Chianti Classico: Vintage , Reserve and Gran Selection , the latter introduced in 2013 to raise the quality bar even further .
For all these reasons, tasting Chianti Classico is fun and never the same .
CHIANTI CLASSICO IN BRIEF
Six questions about Chianti Classico and as many answers.
1. From which grapes is Chianti Classico produced?
This wine is made with sangiovese (at least 80%), possibly mixed with other grapes red berry, native (such as canaiolo nero and colorino) or international (merlot and cabernet sauvignon).
2. What are the rules for the production of Chianti Classico?
The Chianti Clasico must be aged for at least 11 months and have an alcohol content of no less than 12 degrees (the requirements for the Riserva are higher).
The Chianti Classico regulations regulate not only the production of wine but also the cultivation of vineyards, with limitations on the quantity of grapes produced per hectare of land, but also per plant. And the vineyards must be on land at an altitude no higher than 700 meters above sea level.
3. Chianti or Chianti Classico?
They are two different DOCGs and have different specifications, production areas and Consortiums.
Chianti Classico is produced in the 70,000 hectares between the cities of Florence and Siena; it is an extraordinary wine-growing area, identified for the production of Chianti already at the beginning of the eighteenth century by the Grand Duke of Tuscany. The suffix “Classico” was added in 1932 to distinguish that wine from Chianti produced outside the area of origin.
4. How to distinguish Chianti Classico?
For the Black Rooster, which is his symbol; and then tasting it.
5. How to pair Chianti Classico
It is a versatile wine, which goes very well with traditional Tuscan dishes but which can also surprise in combination with many international cuisines.
6. Useful tips for tasting Chianti Classico at its best
To taste it at its best, the bottle must be opened a few hours before use to allow the wine to oxygenate and therefore release its many aromas.
The ideal serving temperature is 16-18° C, depending on the season.
There is also a glass named after him, in which the wine gives its best.
