The Lightness of Being: Chianti Classico 2026 Tasting Report

One of the qualities of Chianti Classico that deserves more recognition is its relative lightness: even the appellation’s most ambitious wines generally settle at an alcohol level of around 13.5 percent and rarely exceed 14 percent. The result is a wonderful sense of effortless drinkability, fragrance and freshness.

That impression emerged clearly from our latest tastings of more than 400 wines – and dozens of meetings with producers and winemakers – spanning Chianti Classico, Riserva and Gran Selezione, with the character of the recent vintages playing no small role. The succession of harvests feels like a roller coaster: the fruit-driven, easygoing 2024; the crisp but somewhat lacking in consistency 2023; the rather rigid 2022; and then the truly impressive 2021.

Before turning to the vintages in detail, one fact deserves emphasis: nearly one bottle in every two bearing the Gallo Nero seal is now certified organic. Without entering the debate over the strengths and limitations of organic farming, the figure nevertheless reflects both a commitment to the land and an ambition to pursue a particular vision of quality and stewardship.

Chianti Classico is a region, and a wine, that is still too often underestimated. It is easy to forget, for example, that some of Tuscany’s greatest wines come from the same rolling hills between Florence and Siena that the Chianti Classico region inhabits: Tignanello, Solaia, Pergole Torte, Cepparello and Per Carlo, to name only a handful of celebrated labels, even if none bears the Chianti Classico denomination.

It is among these same hills that the Gallo Nero was born, in a part of Tuscany that is cooler because of its more continental climate. Vineyards typically sit between 300 and 400 meters above sea level – an ideal elevation for sangiovese – with some climbing to 600 meters. Just as important are the predominantly austere soils: poor, rocky, schistous and limestone-rich.

The denomination covers roughly 70,000 hectares, of which only about 10 percent is planted to vineyards under appellation rules. Another 10 percent is devoted to olive groves, while the remainder is occupied by other crops and, above all, forests – a priceless reservoir of biodiversity and environmental purity.

These conditions give rise to wines that are fresh, light, fragrant and capable of remarkable longevity. The tradeoff is that young Chianti Classico can sometimes appear tense, bony and lacking the breadth on the palate that wines from warmer regions often possess, particularly in some of the most recent vintages.

At the summit of the quality pyramid stands Gran Selezione, created precisely to deliver greater depth and completeness. The category requires a minimum of 30 months of aging and at least 90 percent sangiovese. Since 2023, producers have also been allowed to identify the Addition Geographical Units (UGAs) – the sub-apellations or defined vineayard areas in Chianti Classico where the wine comes from. This is intended to highlight the distinctive character of the denomination’s individual communes.

There is little doubt that the finest wines of the tasting came from the 2021 Gran Selezione releases, even if oak occasionally remains too evident in these youthful wines. By contrast, the Riserva category, which was once the undisputed pinnacle of the denomination, now seems somewhat overshadowed by the emergence of Gran Selezione, although this maybe more due to the nature of the 2022 and 2023 vintages than to any structural decline in the category itself.

The drought-stricken 2022 vintage is remembered for striking images of vineyards in Radda, even at higher elevations, where grapes shriveled under the relentless heat. The wines today are bony and chalky, though generally fuller than the 2023s, which in most cases lack the substance expected of a Riserva. Among the younger releases, however, the best 2024s already display an appealing sense of flow and drinkability.

Among the highlights across all these vintages is the youthful Querciabella Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Greve 2021. This is a wine that is focused on fragrance; precise and fresh with licorice and cherry-stones, balsamic Vicks depth and then elegance on the palate with violets flavors, graceful super ripe tannins and crisp acidity. It’s chewy finish is full of potential.

The Terreno Chianti Classico Gran Selezione A Sofia 2021 is a spicy and elegant offering from the vintage, with an exquisite mix of citrus, red cherries and pits alongside licorice root and sweet violets. It’s full-bodied, velvety and crisp, and offers great balance alongside mineral length.

The Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigneto Il Poggio 2021, meanwhile, is fresh and multilayered, slightly reductive in a positive way, showing raspberries, red currants, strawberries and cherries with pits. It has an almost minty depth and a whiff of rhubarb as well. It’s medium-bodied and offers sleek, ripe and refined tannins with a hint of chalky texture typical of sangiovese grapes.

But we have to mention another gem of 2021, which is a base wine – the Castell’in Villa Chianti Classico. This is not a Riserva or Gran Selezione, but rather a Gallo Nero with an impressive depth and definition, dense and velvety enhnaced by black cherry endless flavors. This estate today represents the best post-modern style in the region with this drinkable wine, which is still full of potential for the long haul.

The Cantalici Chianti Classico 2023 is the best Annata wine of the vintage. It has such fantastic energy with spicy aromas of red cherries, vibrant fresh violets and licorice. It’s very classic, expressive, supple and refined on the palate, with refreshing acidity, velvety tannins and a long, savory finish supported by graphite flavors. It’s easily one of the best in its category.

Among the finest Riservas from the 2023 vintage, the San Giusto a Rentennano Chianti Classico Riserva Le Baròncole and Cigliano di Sopra Chianti Classico Vigneto Branca Riserva ranked among the top.

The standout wine of the 2023 vintage, though, is the Barone Ricasoli Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Colledilà 2023. It’s a restrained wine focused on chalky minerality, red currants and wild strawberries, with plenty of licorice and graphite. It’s tight and long, and more elegant than powerful.

Today, more than ever before, Chianti Classico is defined by its quest for quality, even if that ambition is not pursued with the same conviction across every estate. As one of Tuscany’s coolest growing areas, it produces wines whose youthful tension - driven by the vibrant energy of sangiovese - is increasingly regarded as one of the appellation’s greatest strengths rather than a weakness. That energy, however, demands an informed palate: it is a quality that must be understood, interpreted and not mistaken for imbalance.

– Aldo Fiordelli, Senior Editor

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated by the JamesSuckling.com tasting team. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. 

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