Wine Country: Italy

Wine Subregion: Tuscany

Wine Varietal: Sangiovese

It’s not like it’s hard to find a nice bottle of Chianti Classico out there.  There are plenty these days from which to choose.  But once in a while one comes along that reminds you just how fun a good ol’ bottle of Chianti can be, and why the Classico region stands out from the rest of the Sangiovese-producing world as ground zero.  Castellare-in-Castellina has been hiding in plain sight practically since it was formed by Paolo Panerai in the early 1970s.  Panerai’s vision united four separate existing wine estates in an amphitheater high in the hills over the village of Castellina-in-Chianti creating one larger, fully integrated agricultural property with protected open space (hence the signature wild birds on the Castellare label that change every vintage), olive groves and, of course, plenty of grapes.  He isolated the oldest, best clone of Sangiovese on the property- the true ‘Sangioveto,’ and made that the basis of his Chianti wine program planting also only a little Canaiolo, another indigenous grape, for its role in adding backbone and color to the blend.  Sitting at about 1200 feet, Castellare’s vines are amongst the highest in the Chianti Classico denomination and a Castellare Chianti is always a cooler, fresher version of Chianti- more about elegance than power or rusticity.  Despite its venerability and the beautiful ancient stone building the cantina occupies, Castellare has always been a progressive winery and you won’t ever find funky, old school wines produced here- this fresh, lovely 2023 was aged in a combination of smaller French oak barrels and larger casks and is ultra-sleek, with Sangiovese’s violet-type florals, cinnamon-y spice and brilliant but cool compact red, almost blue, fruit on vivid display.  There’s obvious old vine concentration here and nice richness on the palate, but it’s satiny too and the wines structure is hidden underneath all that silk.  We loved the its elegance and elan.  Wife Anne said its purity of fruit reminded her of a really lovely Langhe Nebbiolo and who am I to argue with Anne?  Anyway, it’s just gorgeous!  With a fig pizza, it would be just perfect.  As it would be with a plate of raviolis in sage butter, a grilled steak or just a platter of salumi and Pecorino Toscano.  And you can keep it for a decade too!  Why not?  It’s rare that I would ever call a Chianti ‘classy,’ but, in this case, I will.  Nice price and an excellent house red candidate.