2021 Chianti Classico Fonterutoli Gran Selezione

Jewel-ruby with fine tannins, the most classic of the three Gran Selezione from Mazzei, delicious and full of character. This is a wine to drink rather than taste, full of Sangiovese luscious and layered red cherry, rosehip, damson fruits and freshly cut herbs, sage, underbrush, crunchy, juicy, understated, balanced, just a lovely glass of wine. Harvest September 24 to October 6., cool Spring and long hot summer in 2021. Gran Selezione since 1995. 50% new oak, 500l casks, followed by four months in concrete tanks, plots at 470m altitude, 6 clones of Sangiovese plus 8 estate massal selections, limestone dominant. Tasted at the estate and again in Bordeaux.

Made with vines closest to the winery headquarters in the village of Castellina (spanning six clones and eight massal selections of Sangiovese), the Mazzei 2021 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Castellina Castello Fonterutoli stands somewhere between the broad, warm appeal of Castelnuovo Berardenga and the more acidic wines from Radda. This happy middle ground is characterized by mid-weight texture and very bright cherry aromas that are especially easy to identify. There is a hint of crushed stone that frames the generous fruit in this 47,000-bottle release. The wine undergoes 18 months in oak with an additional four months in cement to integrate.

The 2021 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Castello Fonterutoli is 100% Sangiovese, a blend from around 30 small parcels. Silky, aromatic and wonderfully nuanced, the 2021 is all class from start to finish. Vineyards at elevation yield a mid-weight, nuanced Gran Selezione that has so much to offer. Clean mineral notes support the finish.