A lot of what you’ll hear and read about Rocca di Montegrossi is that it’s an “under-the-radar” property in Chianti Classico. This despite its proprietor/winemaker having the name “Ricasoli,” which carries more than a little weight in these parts.
Marco Ricasoli-Firidolfi is a great-great-great grandson of Bettino Ricasoli, the so-called “Iron Baron” and two-time Prime Minister of Italy, who is credited with the creation of the original “recipe” for Chianti Classico wine. The family “seat” was the Brolio Castle in the Chianti Classico village of Gaiole, which not only still stands but lends its name to one of the best-known Chianti wines on the market. Close by, in the hamlet of Monti in Chianti, Marco represents his branch of the family with humility, a hands-on approach, and most important, a well-priced lineup of impeccable Chianti Classico wines. Perhaps it’s that humility that keeps Rocca di Montegrossi under the radar, because the quality of the wines—from vineyards that have been Certified Organic since 2010—demands our attention. Today’s wine is a modern wine, but also a resolutely authentic wine, and very much the kind of Chianti I’d serve to someone who says he doesn’t like Chianti. To me, this wine’s pitch-perfect balance of forest-floor savor, black cherry fruit, and textural polish is exactly what will bring more wine lovers into the Chianti Classico tent; it isn’t pandering to the ‘international’ palate, but neither is it the kind of excessively rustic style that kept a lot of people away. This is, to put it plainly, a great Tuscan wine at a great price. And I’m always game for one of those—how about you?
Across the entirety of the Rocca di Montegrossi lineup, there’s an obvious pedigree to the wines: They are clean and refined, but with a clear sense of place to them. The estate’s 50 acres of vineyards are, in typically Chiantigiano fashion, surrounded by some 250 acres of woodland, and the first sip of today’s 2015 confirms that this wine is a product of its surroundings. Like great red Burgundy, Chianti Classico at its best should make you feel like you’re eating wild black cherries in the middle of a forested grove. And yes, that’s what this one does.
The first of Rocca di Montegrossi’s vineyards were planted in 1966 by Marco’s father, on south- and southeast-facing slopes that vary in elevation from 340 to 500+ meters. The soils are the classic, extremely rocky mix of galestro (a friable marl with clay and limestone) and alberese (a clay/sandstone mix), and while experts continue to pull their hair out trying to “map” Chianti Classico’s vineyards in a similar manner to those of Burgundy, no such map yet exists, really. Empirically, I can say that Gaiole-area Chiantis (of which this is one) skew a little darker in color and in fruit character, and in that sense this wine is true to form. Ricasoli-Firidolfi, who enlists the assistance of well-regarded winemaking consultant Attilio Pagli, ferments this flagship Chianti Classico in upright wooden vats before transferring the wine to used oak tini (54-56 hectoliter vats made of Allier French oak) for 12-14 months. The wine then spends another six months in bottle before release.
The ripe 2015 vintage is on glorious display here, although there’s still a perceptible amount of youthful Sangiovese tannin that softens with 30 minutes in a decanter. In the glass, it’s a deep ruby with purple and garnet reflections, with aromas of black cherry, crushed black raspberry, coffee grounds, cigar wrapper, warm baking spices, black pepper, wood smoke, and forest floor. It’s “modern-ness” is expressed in its ripe and fine-grained tannins—there’s great acidity lending freshness and lift but, on balance, the wine is a smoother and silkier breed of Chianti Classico, and very appealing because of it. Medium to medium-plus in body, it has a kind of “rustic-chic” quality to it—luxurious, but also rough-hewn. Decant this before serving in large Bordeaux stems at 60-65 degrees over the next 5-7 years, and whatever you choose to pair it with, a good grill char certainly won’t hurt. Tasting this wine had me reminiscing about my days as wine director at Babbo in New York City, and about Mario Batali’s balsamic- and honey-marinated quail. By the time you read this, there’s a good chance this wine and this recipe will have met. Give it a shot yourself, and enjoy!
