1997 Flaccianello della Pieve
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
Moving away from Burgundy, the next wine was the 1997 Flaccianello, the pure Sangiovese from Tenuta Fontodi. The bouquet is outstanding, a heady mélange of red and black fruit mingling with star anise, freshly rolled tobacco and sandalwood; this seems to be effortlessly moving into its secondary aroma stage. The palate is beautifully balanced, with fine breeding and impressive concentration given that it is now 24 years old, leading to a full-bodied, rounded finish. This is drinking perfectly now but has the substance to last. The home straight saw us move to Bordeaux.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
This wine marks its own set of milestones. The 1997 Flaccianello della Pieve is one of my favorite bottles in this retrospective. This bottle is just singing at the moment and shows no sign of lowering its voice. Come listen while you can. At a beautiful moment in its drinking window, the wine is plentiful, exuberant and bright. This vintage marks the pinnacle of a stylistic movement prizing increased extraction that has since been abandoned. However, there's a lot to be said of what was achieved here regardless. The bouquet offers a compelling ensemble of dried fruit aromas with barbecue spice, tilled earth and blackberry preserves. The 1997 vintage produced very small, dark and compact berries spurred by cold temperatures in April that blocked development of the buds and caused a significant decrease in yields. The 1997 vintage is unique in the context of this vertical tasting.
The 1997 Flaccianello della Pieve shows broad shoulders and a robust style that has carried it forward over the years with grace and determination. Compared to the 1999 vintage, this wine is a bigger and bolder expression of Fontodi's best Sangiovese grapes. The vintage was characterized by a hot and dry summer, and the resulting berries were smaller and more compact in structure with thicker skins. This has contributed to the wine's sizable width and breadth. I also want to point out that the tannins have achieved a perfect point of silkiness. Those 18 years of aging have ushered this wine forward to a spectacular moment in its drinking window. If you have a bottle, you will be well rewarded by its current state of excellence.
The 1997 Flaccianello della Pieve wraps around the palate with endless layers of dark fruit. In 1997 the grapes were very small because the intense heat of the year dehydrated the fruit. Dark red berries, pomegranate, spices, smoke, licorice, anise and rose petals burst from the glass with notable energy, power and grace. Even with all of its intensity, the 1997 is beautifully balanced from start to finish. This racy, full-bodied Flaccianello can be enjoyed today or cellared for up to a decade.
About the producer
Based just outside Panzano-in-Chianti, Chianti Classico estate Fontodi was acquired by the Manettis in 1968, a family which has established its modern reputation. Today the leading property is best known for its Flaccianello delle Pieve, the pure Sangiovese Super Tuscan first made in 1981.