The wine that reminded us all just how exciting a bottle of good ol’ Chianti can be is back in stock and better than ever, too.  Sean O’Callaghan’s Tenuta Carleone Chianti Classico- the 2019 of which was PRIMA’s 2021 Wine of the Year- is on the shelf again after a long hiatus!  For the as yet uninitiated, we’ve known Sean, Chianti’s famed ‘one-eyed rascal’ since the early nineties when he was making the iconic wines of Riecine in Gaiole-in-Chianti for the late John Dunkley.  Walking into the old cellar and seeing that sly one-eyed grin for the first time, he seemed like exactly the kind of guy to whom I could relate.  He, you see, was- like myself in younger days- an inveterate world traveler who, one day, some forty years ago, hopped on a motorcycle, fresh out of winemaking school in Germany, and drove to Chianti Classico.  In Dunkley he found a kindred spirit- passionate, uncompromising and committed- and, under John’s tutelage, they turned the old, long-ignored Riecine property into one of Chianti’s very finest producers.  When John passed away in 1996, though, Sean decided to stick around at Riecine and made wine for several subsequent owners, one of whom built him a brand-spanking new winery with all the bells and whistles any winemaker could ask for.  But, despite all the ultra-modern trappings (even a helipad!), the new owners, says Sean, were more interested in living the glamorous Tuscan-style lifestyle than obsessing about the quality of their Chianti, and, when, after 26 years at Riecine, Austrian businessman Karl Egger asked Sean to create something new and exciting from 20 hectares of Sangiovese Karl had just purchased, and offered Sean carte blanche to make any kind of wine he wanted, he quickly made the move from Gaiole to nearby Radda.  O’Callaghan, uncompromising when it comes to his Sangiovese, implemented an organic, biodynamic regimen in Karl’s vineyard and insisted on a complete back-to-the-future, non-interventionalist approach. The fermentations would be 100% natural and aging would only be in traditional, large format wood.  The results, predictably, have been fabulous from day one, and in only a few short years, the wines of Tenuta di Carleone have garnered a cult-like reputation throughout Europe.  Sean looks at Sangiovese like he would his favorite wines from Burgundy or Barolo, and aims for a mono-varietal expression of the grape that is long on finesse but with a formidable structure and noble tannins.  Maybe that’s why I love them so much!  If Nebbiolo were to be grown in the heart of the Chianti Classico region, it would probably taste a lot like Sean’s.  These are not powerhouse Tuscan wines, rather they accent the pure, more elegant side of the grape with classical structures and age-ability as well. The 2021 Chianti Classico, coming as it does from an absolutely spectacular harvest in the region, is dark with obvious aromatic lift and lots of stuffing.  It highlights the more svelte, pure side of Sangiovese with distinctive florals to go with a deeper core of  dark cherries and lots of Sangio’s spice, yet with a strong, pronounced backbone.  Savory and delicious, it’s an impressive, expressive example of Chianti that as much shows of Radda as it does Sean. Very highly recommended.