When we offered the 2014 vintage of this reference-point wine, SommSelect Editorial Director David Lynch described it as his go-to bottle for winning over Chianti skeptics. But are there still Chianti skeptics? Well, if this 2015 doesn’t make you a believer, nothing will!
Maybe it’s me: Maybe I’m underestimating the market’s appetite and appreciation for Chianti Classico. But then again, why do I always feel compelled to “make a case” for Chianti Classico wines whenever I’m serving or selling them? Why do I still feel like I need to convince people (including some of my peers) that Chianti Classico is world-class wine? It should be enough to say that today’s wine is Chianti Classico from an elite producer in an exceptional vintage—but just in case, this wine does indeed compare favorably to top village-level Burgundy and Cru Beaujolais. Everything about this silky, aromatic 2015, including its price, is spot-on; it is a category-defining wine in every way, speaking of its grape (Sangiovese) and place (central Tuscany) in the clearest, most resonant voice possible. Monteraponi proprietor Michele Braganti aspires to have his wines mentioned in the same breath as great red Burgundies, and I think they deserve it—if you’re not already a Monteraponi fan, today’s the day to jump on the bandwagon. I’m a believer, and you will be, too!
When I lived in Italy in 2000, Michele wasn’t yet producing wines at Monteraponi, a property that has been in his family since the early 1970s. To be truthful, Monteraponi didn’t appear on my radar until much later, but, over the last few years, I’ve gotten to know Michele and his wines—crafted with the help of Tuscan winemaking eminence Maurizio Castelli—quite well. The estate spans more than 200 hectares, most of which is woodland on the outskirts of Radda in Chianti. Braganti has 12 hectares of vineyards and 8 of olive groves, all now certified organic, and like many Tuscan wine properties, Monteraponi was at one time a Medieval borgo—a tiny village unto itself that once belonged to a marchese (marquis) who was the governor of Tuscany. Today the impeccably restored houses are used as holiday rentals, and Braganti’s aging cellar sits underneath a 12th-century tower that is the centerpiece of the property. Perched at about 500 meters, with its vineyards concentrated within a south-facing amphitheater, it is a stunningly beautiful place to make (and drink) wine. The soils are the classic, extremely rocky mix of galestro (a friable marl with limestone) and alberese (sandstone).
What Braganti strives for in his wines is finesse and aromatic uplift, and his model for what’s possible in this terroir is the legendary Montevertine estate—which is also in Radda, on a hilltop just across the valley. Montevertine, whose “Le Pergole Torte” is one of the great examples of Sangiovese’s “Burgundian” ambitions, took the “Chianti Classico” DOCG moniker off its labels long ago. But that doesn’t change the fact of their origins, and Braganti has hosted many joint tastings with Martino Manetti of Montevertine to hammer his point home. Theirs are wines focused almost exclusively on Sangiovese, with only small percentages of the traditional, local blending grapes—Canaiolo and Colorino—making up the remainder.
Today’s 2015 is an annata bottling, meaning it is aged a minimum of one year before release. Monteraponi’s annata is fermented in cement vats using only ambient yeasts, undergoing a long skin maceration (25 days) in the process, and it is aged 16 months in large Slavonian oak casks. It is “finished” for one month in concrete before being bottled by gravity without any fining or filtration. Containing 95% Sangiovese and 5% Canaiolo, it is a perfect snapshot of the place it comes from: It tastes like the woods, although 2015 gave it an extra layer of dark, luscious cherry fruit.
In the glass, the 2015 is a deep ruby moving to garnet at the rim, with an inviting nose of ripe black cherry, rose petal, black raspberry, black pepper, underbrush, and a hint of smoke. Medium-plus in body and with a softer tannic profile than any recent vintage in memory, it is especially Pinot-esque in this incarnation—Sangiovese ultimately displays more ‘masculine’ smoke and savor in comparison to even the woodsiest Pinot Noirs, but in 2015 the core of fruit is deep enough to fool more than a few tasters, I think—and it is very enjoyable now, needing only about 15-30 minutes in a decanter to blossom. Serve it at 60-65 in Burgundy stems and enjoy its nearly unparalleled versatility with food: As I’ve said before, I could drink this wine every day, and with everything from roast chicken to grilled salmon to a pepper-crusted steak. But because this wine is, to me, an essential household staple like olive oil and good salt, I’m pairing it with one of Tuscany’s great wintertime staples,
ribollita. Come in from the cold and enjoy these two classics together. It doesn’t get any better!
— D.L.
