No matter how hard I try, I can’t stop litigating my assertion that Chianti Classico is the Burgundy of Italy. I’m either being shot down by fellow Italophiles (“No way, man, it’s Barolo!”) or scoffed at by countless others who (a) believe that nothing compares to Burgundy; and (b) still cling to badly outdated Chianti Classico stereotypes.
I’ll allow, grudgingly, that Chianti is more inconsistent overall—and its Sangiovese grape even more difficult to work with than Pinot Noir—but I’ll take today’s 2015 from Montesecondo into a wine-geek gunfight any time. Find me a similarly priced red Burgundy from the same vintage (a Europe-wide blockbuster, as you are likely aware by now) and let’s throw down: Like Rocky Balboa in his first fight against Apollo Creed, Montesecondo is going to come out the winner in many minds—and win all the hearts regardless. There’s simply no denying the purity, perfume, and classical structure of this wine, which is, among other things, a triumph of biodynamic farming. I would be more than comfortable popping a bottle of this and saying, “I rest my case,” but there’s always more work to be done. Of course, when the wine is this good, it’s not work at all!
Longtime SommSelect subscribers know that we’re not new to Montesecondo or its charismatic proprietor, Silvio Messana, whose embrace of organics/biodynamics and non-interventionist winemaking has made him a demi-celebrity among sommeliers. Silvio had spent time working in the wine business in New York before returning to Chianti Classico in the 1990s, taking over a property first purchased by his father in 1963. Located in the hamlet of Cerbaia, just outside San Casciano Val di Pesa in the northwestern-most corner of the Chianti Classico DOCG, the Montesecondo “home” vineyard is now augmented by a six-hectare vineyard in a tiny village called Vignano, about 18 kilometers away.
Silvio’s parents planted Sangiovese, Colorino, and Canaiolo, along with Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, and had sold the farm’s grapes to the local cooperative; it wasn’t until 2000 that Silvio bottled his first ‘estate’ wine from the family’s fruit, and not long after that, he began the conversion to organic farming; by 2005 he had stopped selling fruit to others and established Montesecondo as a source of classically styled wines of exceptional energy and purity. At times, as one of his US importers points out, he has “run afoul” of the regional authorities who oversee Chianti Classico production; ultimately, there are official tasting committees who determine whether a wine can carry the Chianti Classico DOCG designation, and Silvio’s wines—brighter, more ‘feminine’ takes on Sangiovese and its classic supporting players (Canaiolo and Colorino, which are co-planted in the vineyards)—sometimes don’t pass muster with the bureaucrats. As such, he labels a lot of his wines with the less-restrictive Toscana IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) designation; to my mind, this is a drag, as Silvio’s wines are some of the most authentic expressions of the Chianti Classico terroir out there, but this is one of the problems with Chianti Classico overall: Although the regulations have been altered over the years to allow for wines to be comprised of 100% Sangiovese, most are still blends, which allows for wide variations in style (and, in turn, variations in what’s deemed ‘typical’). Then there are the unscrupulous, usually larger-scale, producers adulterating their wines with God-knows-what. Much as I champion Chianti Classico as a terroir, you still must sift through lots of mediocre stuff to find real-deal expressions like this one.
Most of the fruit for today’s 2015 comes from the above-mentioned vineyard in Vignano, which sits at about 500 meters of elevation and boasts the rocky, limestone-rich marls that characterize the best vineyards in the appellation. The wine was fermented on indigenous yeasts in concrete tanks and aged roughly one year in a mix of used tonneaux and barriques. It then spends about six months aging in bottle before release. Comprised of 90% Sangiovese with the remaining 10% Canaiolo/Colorino, this displays not just the deep fruit concentration of the vintage but the snap, crackle, and pop that I crave from Chianti Classico.
In the glass, Montesecondo’s 2015 is a luminous garnet red extending out to the rim, with aromas of red and black cherry, ripe wild strawberry, orange peel, rosemary, leather, turned earth, and grill char. Medium-bodied and buoyantly fresh, it has the ideal push-pull of sweet and savory through the long and aromatic finish—ultimately it’ll skew a hair more savory and smoky than whatever similarly priced Burgundy you put up against it, but you’ll find similar energy, perfume, and uplifted charm. Decant it about 30 minutes before serving at 60-65 degrees in Burgundy stems and pair it with a steak well-seasoned with sea salt, cracked black pepper, and herbs. My pick would be a skirt steak done
tagliata-style and served with a simple arugula salad. Try a few bottles soon and set a few more aside for 3-5 years further aging. They will not disappoint! Cheers!
