Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Badiola Castello di Fonterutoli 2018

The Badiòla site is located high up in Radda in Chianti, at 500-570m on sandstone and galestro, with some alberese also present on the lower section of the vineyard: ‘A synthesis of the three main soils of the area,’ commented managing director, Filippo Mazzei. This vineyard used to belong to the family until it was sold in the 1940s, only to be bought back in the mid-1990s and replanted with select clones of Sangiovese. Vinified in stainless steel conical vats with 17 days of maceration, it's then matured for 16 months in 500l French oak barrels (30% new) and finished for five months in concrete tanks. The open, fragrant nose expresses earthy black and red cherries with floral perfume and a touch of balsam. In the mouth it's creamy and intense, combining peppery spice with beautifully precise and tangy black and red cherries and blackberries. Ripe and fresh with a balsamic vein running through it, this is a superbly balanced Sangiovese which speaks of its place. 7,500 bottles produced

A juicy and ripe wine with freshness and brightness for the Radda zone in Chianti Classico. Medium-bodied. Savory. Orange peel. Drink now or hold.

This wine is inspired by the precious Romanesque chapels (built before the year 1,000) that exist in this beautiful part of Tuscany. The Badiòla Vineyard was sold by the Mazzei family in 1949, but they reacquired the property 40 years later. Many decades ago, this high-elevation site had problems reaching fruit ripeness, but today, with climate change, this is no longer an issue. The 2019 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Castello di Fonterutoli Badiòla is a fine and elegant wine with pinpoint aromas of cherry, blackberry, spice, earth and pressed violet. The six-hectare site has a mix of schistous galestro soils and sandstone. The mineral signature is very pretty in this wine, with a production of 3,500 bottles.