2010 Chianti Classico Riserva

Very toasty and intense, the 2010 Chianti Classico Riserva (90% Sangiovese and 10% Canaiolo) is packed tight with cigar smoke, toasted nut, leather and tobacco. In addition to those softer aromas, it offers bright cherry fruit and a beautiful sense of minerality with crushed stone and granite. Those ashy mineral tones help to establish a sense of linearity and focus. I would love to revisit this wine in five years or so to check on its promising evolution.

The 2010 Chianti Classico Riserva is laced with dark cherry, plum, smoke, tobacco, menthol, herbs, new leather and licorice. This mid-weight, decidedly savory Riserva is an excellent choice for drinking over the next few years. The finish is nicely layered and silky, but the flavors are a bit forward for the year, which suggests the 2010 is best enjoyed sooner rather than later.

The grapes for this wine were sourced from 22 hectares of vineyards located at an altitude of 370m in the municipality of Barberino Val d’Elsa to the south-west of Florence. The dominant components of the soil are Galestro, a combination of limestone and clay, and another limestone called Alberese which is more fertile and soluble. The grapes for this wine were harvested at the beginning of October and then underwent a five day long temperature controlled maceration in steel tanks, with daily pumping over. The wine was aged for 24 months in French Allier oak casks, and for a further three months in bottle prior to release. Mid ruby. Disappointingly sweet and stewed on the nose. Tarry, sweet and sour with a range of herbs and spices but far too oaky and Frenchified for real Tuscan pleasure. (JR)