You might have already read our report on Chianti Classicos and all the changes in store for its top billing, Gran Selezione. This small classification that stands atop the Chianti pyramid represents just 5 to 6 percent of total volume for the Classico category, although this number is likely to rise.
When the classification debuted in February 2014, its wines were required to have an additional 0.5 percent of alcohol compared with the Riserva classification (13 percent versus 12.5 percent); a slightly higher total extract of 26g/l in comparison with Riserva’s 25g/l; and a minimum aging time before release of 30 months, compared with Riserva's 24 months. The most important element for Gran Seleziones was that the winery making them could only use grapes from their own vineyards, with a tasting jury to decide if each wine was good enough to carry the moniker.
But Gran Selezione’s debut was greeted with skepticism and controversy. For one thing, instead of applying only to the most recent vintage, the classification could be retroactively applied to wines made as early as 2010, causing confusion among winemakers and the trade. And the quality of Gran Seleziones during those first couple of years was a decidedly mixed bag. While the better renditions followed along the same lines as a winery’s Chianti Classico Annata or Riserva bottlings but with more depth and a greater sense of the wine’s provenance, lesser producers either failed to make the necessary leap in their Gran Selezione bottlings or completely departed from the Chianti Classico designation.
READ MORE: CHIANTI CLASSICO'S TOP DESIGNATION UPS WINE GAME AMID RULE CHANGES
