2022 Flaccianello della Pieve
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Tasting notes
Another icon from Tuscany is the Fontodi 2022 Flaccianello della Pieve. This organic wine is beautiful, quite bold and thickly extracted. Across the board, these wines from the 2022 vintage made by Fontodi all show high alcohol and a rather robust character, and the same goes for the Flaccianello, whose alcohol content is 15%. This vintage is more accessible overall, with finely tuned tannins. This wine represents a selection of the best estate fruit at various elevations with both alberese limestone soils and galestro shale. Production is 60,000 bottles.
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Average Score
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
This rich, fruity wine shows huge complexity. Aromas of plums, black cherries, fresh violets and licorice with touches of leather and graphite. Full-bodied, it displays a well-tamed structure, with firm tannins coated in fruit and chewy acidity that keeps the finish fresh and in balance. From organically grown grapes. Try from 2027.
60-year-old vines. Whole-bunch pressing followed by static decantation overnight. Fermentation in 600-litre tonneaux. ‘This [clone of] Trebbiano turns to pink skins when it matures. While others ferment it on the skins we leave it on the vine until it turns pink.’ Fermented in second- and fourth-year tonneaux. Lees stirring twice a day, as it can rapidly become reduced. 900 bottles made. Certified organic (QC). Brilliant deep straw. Chamomile with a wet-salt note and a creamy hint from oak. Sweet white-fruit palate with subtle lemon notes. Long viscous and ageworthy. (WS)
The 2022 Flaccianello della Pieve is a rather quiet wine in this vintage. The vineyard mix is a bit different than in the recent past, as hail damaged one of the three core vineyards Fontodi uses for Flaccianello. Instead, the winery used parcels across the street from the winery that were used for Flaccianello from 1981 to 2000, before they were replanted. Dark Sangiovese fruit, spice, new leather, menthol and incense are nicely laced together. Overall, the 2022 feels a bit lithe. I have seen Flaccianello blossom with time in bottle. That could very well be the case here. Sadly, production is down by 40%.
About the producer
Based just outside Panzano-in-Chianti, Chianti Classico estate Fontodi was acquired by the Manettis in 1968, a family which has established its modern reputation. Today the leading property is best known for its Flaccianello delle Pieve, the pure Sangiovese Super Tuscan first made in 1981.