On Monday 10 September, at the historic Villa Antinori Cigliano, Marchese Piero Antinori announced the addition of three new Chianti Classico Gran Selezione wines to the Antinori range.
‘When you speak of Chianti Classico it is music to my ears,’ he said. ‘Chianti Classico is part of the DNA of the Antinori family and the company. Sixty years ago, when I took over the handling of the company, Chianti Classico was the most important wine we made.
‘We later became seen as protagonists of the SuperTuscans but in reality, and now more than ever, we are attached to Chianti Classico.’
Four wines were tasted: Badia a Passignano Chianti Classico Gran Selezione from the San Donato in Poggio UGA (released in July 2024), and three new wines yet to be launched on to the market:
Buiano Chianti Classico Gran Selezione from the Castellina UGA
Villa del Cigliano Chianti Classico Gran Selezione from the San Casciano UGA
San Sano Chianti Classico Gran Selezione from the Gaiole UGA.
It is expected that the new wines will be launched together in the next six months, at an estimated retail price of €100 -€150.
Identity
The Gran Selezione classification, introduced in 2014 as a step above Chianti Classico Riserva, stipulates that all grapes must be grown by the estate. The introduction of 11 sub-zones or Additional Geographic Units (Unità Geografiche Aggiuntive (UGA) in July 2023 adds to the quality hierarchy. Gran Selezione wines with a UGA on the label must be sourced exclusively from the named UGA.
These wines come from four very different sites. Antinori’s CEO, Renzo Cotarella and his team have gone out of their way to tailor the winemaking process to each wine, using a different approach for each. ‘We wanted to express and underline the differences of the individual vineyard sites we have in Chianti Classico,’ said Cotarella. ‘The goal was to produce a wine from a 100% Sangiovese with an identity of the place.’
Marchesi Antinori is one of the few companies that has its own vineyards in several sub-zones of Chianti Classico and hence the wines can represent different UGA. For the moment, quantities of these wines will be small – 5,000-6,000 bottles each – but the hope is to increase this to 20,000 bottles for each wine.
The Antinori family spearheaded the renaissance of Tuscan wine in the early 1970s. Its contribution to the quality of Italian wine has been enormous, so it is only fitting that it should also be leading the march into the future by focusing on wines of purity and finesse with a strong sense of place.
‘It is almost a duty to produce our best Chianti Classico and to release these Gran Selezione [wines] as an expression of the individual identity of the terroir of our vineyards,’ concluded Cotarella. Marchese Piero quickly added: ‘It’s a duty but also a privilege to own such special vineyards.’
