SommSelect Editorial Director David Lynch would be happy to drink this Tuscan red every day, indefinitely. Like great summer tomatoes, it’s a perfectly simple pleasure that never gets tiresome.
This Chianti Colli Senesi is straight-up delicious, naturally made, and so much wine for $20 it seems unfair to its producer. If we were in a restaurant, I’d probably leave it at that, pour you a taste, and you would be delighted with your choice. This is one of those wines that prompts instant consensus around our tasting table—a pure, modestly proportioned, high-energy wine that’s true to both its grape variety and place. On a table full of reds, including some more ‘serious’ and expensive bottles, this is the one that disappears first; it’s a Tuscan Sangiovese that’s as juicy and crunchy as a bowl of bing cherries, and for me, it’s perfect and complete. Grab a case (or more) and make it your go-to ‘house’ wine, and I guarantee you’ll be the toast of your neighborhood.
Tenuta Le Calcinaie is an impeccably run little property in San Gimignano, which most people know as a town whose wines (headlined by whites from the Vernaccia grape) don’t usually do justice to their spectacular namesake village. Le Calcinaie’s Simone Santini not only takes the often-insipid Vernaccia to another level, his touch with Sangiovese is equally deft. Santini planted his first vines in the late-1980s, while simultaneously working as a bricklayer; by the mid-‘90s his vines were certified organic, and in 2012 the wines were certified, too. The property’s name, Le Calcinaie, makes reference to the limestone-infused marl soils of the area, which aren’t much different from those in neighboring Chianti Classico.
The Chianti Colli Senesi appellation extends over a fairly broad area: its name means “the hills of Siena” and includes an area around Siena south and west of the Chianti Classico DOCG boundary. The Colli Senesi appellation also extends to Montepulciano and Montalcino, and there are many top-flight producers in those zones bottling Colli Senesi Chiantis.
Santini’s 12 hectares of vines in and around San Gimignano include about 5 hectares of Sangiovese planted on the higher parts of the property, where brown clay is mixed with marl and helps deliver richness of fruit and color. His Colli Senesi is 100% organically farmed Sangiovese fermented in stainless steel and matured for six months in a mix of stainless (60%) and large oak casks (40%).
This 2015 is a youthful ruby-red with hints of magenta at the rim, with an aromatic profile that’s textbook Sangiovese: black cherry, black raspberry, currant, fennel, tomato leaf, forest floor, and a hint of char like that on a just-grilled steak. Many drinkers see the word ‘Chianti’ and immediately think ‘thin and tart,’ but this wine is just the opposite—juicy and bright are the proper adjectives here. The fruit is deep and satisfying and perfectly ripe in the generous 2015 vintage, and the wine finishes on a floral note, with hints of damp violets and rose petals. I want this red on hand in quantity for the remainder of the grilling season, and I wouldn’t hesitate to chill it down below 60 degrees—it’s fruity snap and high-toned aromatics do not suffer in the least, while the refreshment level hits the stratosphere. Serve it in Burgundy stems—lots of people would say Bordeaux glasses for Tuscan reds, but, while I would use those for Brunello di Montalcino, this wine is more like a buoyant Bourgogne Rouge and should be treated as such. Pair it with steaks and burgers on the grill or, later in the year, a tomato-y beef
braciole. Get a lot. You’re going to want to have it around.
—D.L.
