Very highly recommended.

PRIMA’s history with this historic Gaiole-in-Chianti producer goes back decades, back when American John Dunkley and English winemaker Sean O’Callaghan had only just restored this ancient Chianti property into modern relevancy. Riecine, however, has been through a lot since John’s passing and Sean’s leaving. Lana Frank, who purchased Riecine in 2011, was determined to restore Riecine’s place as the gold standard of Chianti Classico. She replanted the vineyards, converted the estate to organic farming, added brand-spanking new concrete tanks, replaced the old barriques with new foudres and added young superstar winemaker Alessandro Campatelli to the team in the cellar, which still includes famed consulting winemaker Carlo Ferrini. Last year, Campatelli purchased Lana’s portion of the business and the next generation of Riecine took over the reins.

The Sangiovese-centric vineyards, themselves, remain some of the best situated in all of Chianti—480 meters high, once part of the ancient Badia a Coltibuono property. Sangiovese remains the heart and soul of Riecine, but they do farm a tiny parcel of old-vine Merlot reserved for the winery’s iconic Super Tuscan-styled red called La Gioia. The wine is always created from that Merlot (typically only 5% of the blend) and the best Sangiovese on the property. Meticulously made, the grapes are hand-sorted and hand-destemmed before being fermented in concrete tanks and conical French oak vats and aged 24 months in foudres, a third of which are renewed each vintage.

The resulting wine is always stunning, an understated but profound rendition of the property’s vineyards. The Merlot adds a darker, duskier element to the Sangiovese, creating a savory-sweet succulence and layered complexity to an utterly gorgeous, ultra-elegant expression of Tuscan red in a more modern, drinkable vein. How it manages the balancing act between its plush appeal and its innate Tuscan core is what makes it so remarkable.

Riecine is going through a divorce (amicable, by all accounts) with its California importer and, thus, we were able to glom onto several last cases of this delicious 2019 at a Brave New World price that will allow you to put some in your cellar much more affordably than before. Yay, us!

James Suckling, 95 points: Sweet berries and cherries with some lavender and rose petal character. Medium body, very fine tannins and orange peel undertones. Firm yet silky. Needs some time to soften but already very beautiful. Drink after 2026.

Wine Advocate, 94 points: A blend of 95% Sangiovese and 5% Merlot, the 2019 La Gioia (with the red wax capsule in a rather heavy bottle) shows bramble and forest berry on first nose. It quickly shifts into a second gear that prizes richness and velvety softness. That added intensity appears to be driven by the small percentage of Merlot that does indeed change the overall DNA of the wine, giving it more density. La Gioia is a 7,000-bottle production.

Vinous Media, 92 points: The 2019 Rosso La Gioia, mostly Sangiovese with a touch of Merlot, is bold, juicy and super- expressive. Succulent red cherry/plum fruit, dried herbs, rose petal, mocha and sweet spice are all nicely amplified in this generous, inviting red blend.