For those of you who’ve received our emails for a while, think about the many transcendent, “over-achieving” Bourgogne Rouge bottlings we’ve offered. Today, we have the Italian equivalent—a different grape and place but the same intrinsic value, stylistic proportions, terroir expression, and historical significance.
In fact, I’ll go ahead and say this Certified Organic Chianti Classico from Le Corti ups the ante on Bourgogne Rouge in terms of value-for-dollar: contemporary Burgundy will never deliver this much wine for $25. This isn’t some generic, mass-market label, either, but the product of a family farm whose roots in Chianti go back to the 14th century. It’s some farm, too, spanning 230 hectares of verdant Tuscan real estate and anchored by a majestic Renaissance-era villa whose underground cellar is still in use. This humbly priced 2018 makes the case for the Chianti Classico terroir, and the Sangiovese, as emphatically as any fancy riserva or Super Tuscan—there’s so much for so little here it’s hard to believe!
An Italian might refer to this wine as un vino quotidiano (rough translation: “daily drinker”), but let’s not damn it with faint praise. It rises to another level, which is what we’re after at SommSelect: We sift through lots of vini quotidiani in search of the best of the bunch, and when this one came along, it got a standing ovation around these parts.
The Le Corti estate is these days overseen by Duccio Corsini, the latest in a long line of Corsinis that dates to the 1700s. Headquartered in the village of San Casciano Val di Pesa, at the northern, “Florence end” of the Chianti Classico DOCG, the sprawling property includes 50 hectares of vineyards that have been farmed organically since 2013 (another 63 hectares are devoted to olive groves). As for the other 100+ hectares? They were deliberately left untouched to promote biodiversity. Soils here are the classic Chiantigiano mix of clay, schist, sandstone, and limestone.
This suave and quite-polished 2018 contains 95% Sangiovese and 5% Colorino, the latter one of the traditional, indigenous blending grapes of the zone, which, as its name suggests, lends some depth of color. Fermentation was carried out over 15 days in temperature-regulated, open-topped tanks, after which the finished wine aged in concrete vats—no wood—for 12 months. Aging in concrete has an interesting textural effect on wine: it seems to soften some of the rough edges of tannin and acidity without diminishing the vibrancy and energy of the wine.
Now with some bottle age, the wine is in a beautiful spot: juicy, woodsy, spicy, refreshing, substantial…just right in the pocket in every way. In the glass, it’s a deep ruby-garnet moving to a pink rim, with textbook aromas of black cherry, woodland berries, violets, orange peel, leather, char, tobacco, and underbrush. It is medium-plus in body, boasting fine-grained tannins and mouth-watering acidity. There’s some real power here but the overall impression is more about refreshment and lift. Decant it 15 minutes before serving in Burgundy stems at 60 degrees and get ready to uncover your grill. Its smoky, savory qualities are ideal for a nicely charred slab or beef, lamb, pork, or chicken. Or mushrooms (see attached). You’ve got options, thanks to the incredible versatility of this wine. Enjoy!
