All located within a few kilometers of each other in A Monti in Gaiole-in-Chianti, San Giusto a Rentennano, Il Palazzino, Badia a Coltibuono and Rocca di Montegrossi form a quartet of elite Chianti producers, each making distinctive, top-quality Classicos we love to have in our store. Rocca di Montegrossi’s Chianti, the best priced of the gang, is a sensational window into the style of the region, the classic Chianti that will grace your table not only over the short term but for many years to come.

One of our all-time favorite Chianti Classicos, it’s blended with 5% Canaiolo and 5% Colorino (no messing with Cabernet or Syrah in their Chianti at this address), owner/winemaker Marco Ricasoli Firidolfi ages the wine in small Allier forest French oak barriques for a year before bottling—not your typical handling for a simple Chianti Classico. The attention to detail shows! Great color (the lovely, perfectly balanced ‘23s are all quite dark and fragrant), classically complex Sangiovese aromatics and a wonderful mouthful of dusky mint-chocolate, dark plum and cherry-infused fruit make this a delicious drink. Plush but firm, it’s nicely balanced for such a young wine, making it a wonderful partner right now for sage butter ravioli, smoked meat platters, red-sauced pastas and (why not?) grilled burgers piled high with good stuff!

Drink it now because it’s delicious, or drink it in five to seven years because you like what Sangiovese becomes with some time—it’s up to you. At still under $30 a bottle, you can afford to have your Chianti and drink it too. Very highly recommended.