'the single greatest young vintage I have ever tasted', GALLONI

I was once again deeply impressed with Le Cinciole. Valeria Viganò and Luca Orsini have quietly turned Le Cinciole into one of the leading estates in all of Italy. Biodynamic farming and a minimalist aesthetic in the cellar inform wines of tremendous character and pedigree. Long aging seems especially well suited to these reds. Readers should do everything they can to check out these new releases. ANTONIO GALLONI

This gem of a producer located in Panzano should definitely be on your radar. Owners Luca Orsini and Valeria Vignano don’t seek the limelight; they concentrate on making focused and precise yet gracious wines. MICHAELA MORRIS, decanter.com

2021 Vintage: Two thousand twenty-one is the single greatest young vintage I have ever tasted in Chianti Classico. Period. Full stop. The 2021s are majestic wines endowed with striking aromatics, layered fruit and all the energy that is such a signature of the appellation. Quality is consistently high across the region, while many wines hit breathtaking peaks of excellence. ANTONIO GALLONI
 

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We’ve been sitting on this Chianti for a little while. Michael had tried the wine in Italy a few months ago, he alerted us to its greatness. When we opened a bottle we were smitten, enraptured by its vitality and fruit purity. But there were no reviews. Surely the world will wake up to the quality of 2021 Chianti Classico we thought. And finally, Galloni dropped an article, waxing lyrical about the virtues of 21 and in particular Le Cinciole.

Galloni has actually called 2021, ‘the single greatest young vintage I have ever tasted in Chianti Classico. Period. Full stop.’

This blockbuster vintage plays to the beauty of Le Cinciole, my favourite Chianti Classico. Yes there are wines that are more polished and more powerful, but ‘the cinc’ has soul and depth. It’s not airbrushed, there’s a freckle or two and flesh on the bones. It's not a show pony and doesn’t rely on bling.  It’s the complete package.

Made from organic fruit, its beating heart of spiced black and red cherries anchor the wine. More on the pure and eloquent spectrum, it takes time to reveal itself. Having tasted quite a few bottles over the last four vintages (check my sales history – Cinciole runs through my veins), the hallmarks of this Chianti Classico are its ferrous and sanguine ultra-fine tannins, potent spiced berries and perfect flesh-to-sinew ratio. 

Valeria and Luca work their Panzano vineyards with vigour and zeal. Like other Tuscan visionaries and purists such as Montevertine and Isole e Olena, the Classico is made from 100% sangiovese. The brilliance of sangiovese is on full display here in all its unbridled glory.

So why is the 21 so great? The last month of ripening made the vintage. Wide diurnal differences built colour and tannin while retaining freshness in the grapes. Long days built flavour upon flavour. Galloni concludes, ‘Many wines are incredibly vibrant but also tightly wound. I expect the best 2021s to continue to improve over the coming years and, in some cases, decades.’

Do yourself a favour, make some fresh pasta with your favourite sauce (a local black truffle would be reaching for the stars) and open a bottle of Cinciole with friends. It will be memorable, I promise.

The beauty of 21 though is that while they are great young they have great potential to age. Grab as many bottles as you can, before I do.

We’ve sharpened ‘the cinc’ to $45 each in a 6 pack or $43 each by the dozen.

Cheers

Gabrielle Poy