Chianti Classico: The Magnificent 2021s

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | JULY 11, 2024

Two thousand twenty-one is the single greatest young vintage I have ever tasted in Chianti Classico. Period. Full stop. The 2021s are majestic wines endowed with striking aromatics, layered fruit and all the energy that is such a signature of the appellation. Quality is consistently high across the region, while many wines hit breathtaking peaks of excellence. Last year, I wrote, “The 2021s, in particular, are some of the most exciting young wines I have tasted in more than 25 years of visiting the region.” The top bottlings, those being released this year, more than confirm that initial impression. This is a historic vintage Vinous readers will want to pay close attention to.

On the road to Castello di Ama. Bellavista is consistently the estate’s most potent, structured Chianti Classico.

The 2021 Growing Season & Wines

The early part of the season was not easy. “The year got off to a fast start. February was especially warm, although temperatures settled back into more normal patterns in March,” Marco Pallanti explained at Castello di Ama. Severe frost descended upon the region on April 6 and 7. Frost is typically most damaging in low-lying areas, where humidity is highest. In 2021, however, strong air currents carried frost into higher elevations, the same phenomenon seen in Bordeaux, Piedmont and other European appellations.

June, July and August were marked by elevated temperatures and very little rain. Conditions moderated considerably in late August, helped by small but well-timed showers. Most producers describe 2021 as a warm vintage, certainly warmer than 2020. But that does not tell the full picture. As is often the case, the quality of the vintage was made during the last month of ripening, a period characterized by the wide diurnal shifts essential for building color, ripening tannin and retaining acidity to balance ripeness in the fruit. The diurnal shift – the variation of temperature from daytime highs to evening lows – is the single most critical and defining element in understanding the 2021s. The last days of August and into September saw evening temperatures drop, ideal conditions when the are still long and luminous. Many wines are incredibly vibrant but also tightly wound. I expect the best 2021s to continue to improve over the coming years and, in some cases, decades.

The Fontodi 2021s are positively stunning.

Two thousand twenty-one is a vintage to buy deep. Readers have many options to explore the vintage at all quality and price levels. It is no secret the wine market is currently going through a period of weakness. The reasons for this are complex and beyond the scope of this article. For the consumer, these dynamics mean the 2021s should be readily available. The pickings will be much slimmer at the same level with the 2022 and 2023 vintages for the reasons explained below.

Antinori CEO Renzo Cotarella flanked by technical directors Dora Pacciani and Sara Pontremolesi look after all the wineries in the Antinori portfolio. The new 2021 Gran Seleziones capture all the potential I sensed when they were young wines in barrel.

First Thoughts on 2022 and 2023…

While 2021 is clearly exceptional, the two years that follow are far more problematic. Two thousand twenty-two is a highly variable vintage marked by intense heat and drought throughout most of the year. A violent storm on August 15 proved to be an inflection point. In some places, heavy rain diluted the fruit somewhat and resulted in a variety of intriguing conditions, including brix reversal such that wines are lower in alcohol than normal.

“We had extreme, unprecedented heat during the first three months of the year,” Luca Martini di Cigala explained at San Giusto a Rentennano. “From mid-August to mid-September we had 200 millimeters of rain, and that changed the style vintage entirely. We went from the fear of having overly concentrated wines with potentially high alcohols to lighter wines with moderate depth. Bunches were bloated, so we did pretty heavy extractions to give the wines a bit of substance and restore the balance of juice to skins.”

Monteraponi, a beautifully preserved Tuscan borgo that dates to Medieval times, is a terrific source for classically built, structured wines.

The quality of the vintage varies from zone to zone. Radda is one of the highlights. Higher-elevation vineyards likely offered a measure of protection against some of the more extreme qualities of the growing season. “My Chianti Classico hits 14% in alcohol, whereas all the 2021s are around 13.5%. It’s one of the richest vintages we have made here,” Michele Braganti told me at Monteraponi, highlighting just how variable wines are from place to place in 2022. “It seemed like it rained every day during harvest in the afternoons, not a lot, but a light rain, and that delayed harvest while also avoiding heaviness and helping preserve freshness in the wines,” Angela Fronti explained at Istine. 

Conditions were much more severe in some sectors, most notably Panzano, where the August 15 storm brought massive hail damage. “Sometime around midnight we heard the violent sound of hail,” Giampaolo Motta told me at La Massa. “We lost our entire crop in 15 minutes. Everything. In thirty years of making wine, I have never seen anything like it.” Some of Motta’s neighbors fared better, but many properties endured losses of 50% or more.

Stress throughout the year left some wines with a perceptible feeling of edginess in the tannins. The best 2022s offer an attractive combination of succulent, forward fruit and mid-weight structure that is unusual but undeniably appealing. In other words, despite intense heat and drought for most of the summer, the 2022s are not texturally opulent or alcoholic wines. I expect 2022 to be a highly variable vintage of mostly early-drinking wines.

Chianti Classico, like much of Italy, endured another highly challenging year in 2023. Constant rain, elevated disease pressure from peronospera (downy mildew) and hail were all factors that lowered yields sharply at many properties. At Castello di Ama, for example, production is down 70%. “We had periods where it rained every day,” Martino Manetti told me at Montevertine. “Peronosopera usually goes away at some point, but in 2023 it came back twice. Our production is down about 20%. This year (2024), we were prepared and began treating very early, on the 15th of April, when usually we start in June.” I have only tasted a few 2023s, too few to have an opinion on quality, but production will be down and some wines will not be bottled at all.

Silvio Messana at Montesecondo caught in a deep conversation covering wine, jazz and the art of baking. Messana is among the growers who are pushing the boundaries of what Chianti Classico is, and what it can be.

The Winds of Change

What strikes me most about Chianti Classico these days is a palpable feeling of dynamic energy. It is no secret Chianti Classico is having a moment. This is the most exciting period in the history of Chianti Classico that I have seen in more than 25 years of tasting the wines and spending time in the region. The introduction of the Gran Seleziones and UGAs (Unità Geografica Aggiuntiva) have created a stronger link between wines and places than at any other time in the past. Author and cartographer Alessandro Masnaghetti has furthered that connection with highly authoritative books and maps that are raising the bar in terms of the knowledge base. Lastly, the producers’ Consorzio has been extremely active with their marketing efforts.

I have had a connection to these wines for far longer. My parents introduced me to Chianti Classico when I was in my late teens and early 20s. They sold wines from producers such as Isole e Olena, Fèlsina, Antinori, Castello di Monsanto and others in their shop. My father would often bring home a bottle and make dinner to go with it. From the very beginning, these wines spoke to me. The first estate I visited in Chianti Classico was Badia a Coltibuono, sometime in the early 1990s. The first wine article I wrote was on Chianti Classico. It was published in 1998 in my parent’s hometown newspaper. Later, I had a chance to learn how well the best wines age, which only increased my interest, especially as a young consumer with limited financial means. That led to a series of retrospective tastings starting in 2006 with Castellare’s Sodi di San Niccolò that ultimately became my article Staring Into The Heart of Sangiovese, a collection of verticals featuring Castellare, Castell'in Villa, Castello di Ama, Fèlsina, Fontodi, Isole e Olena, Montevertine and San Giusto a Rentennano first published in The Wine Advocate in 2012 during a time when space in the paper edition was extremely limited, and everything required the approval of Robert Parker. I was totally hooked on the region and its wines long before most of the recent developments mentioned above were conceived, much less realized.

Castell’in Villa remains a bastion for translucent, classically-built Chianti Classicos.

For many years, the top producers were the usual suspects. Their lineups were unchanged over long stretches of time, while the wines were stylistically the same from vintage to vintage. The last decade or so has seen tremendous change, starting with the emergence of a generation of young producers who are shaking things up. Some have taken over family properties and materially elevated quality. These include Piero Lanza at Poggerino and Michele Braganti at Monteraponi. Other wineries are newer, including Angela Fronti’s Istine. A third group includes producers who are challenging established notions of what Chianti Classico can be by experimenting with whole clusters, working with alternative aging vessels and generally searching for a style that seeks freshness and energy more than size, at times presenting wines that are on the lighter side relative to what was once common here. Giovanna Morganti and Giorgio Serao at Le Boncie, Silvio Messana at Montesecondo and Sean O’Callaghan at Tenuta di Carleone have given the appellation a much-needed infusion of new energy. Their wines, and those of other similarly minded growers, are incredibly compelling.

The larger, more established estates have not rested on their laurels. Many have introduced new wines. These include Fontodi, where the range has nearly doubled. Antinori is presenting several new Gran Seleziones with the 2021 vintage. Mazzei introduced Caggio, their new, ambitious Gran Selezione, a few years ago. To be sure, much of this change has been driven by the creation and emergence of the Gran Selezione category. For example, Brolio has added several new wines to their lineup.

Much of this has been driven by a marked shift in sensibilities around farming and winemaking. Virtually all top estates pursue some version of sustainable farming, an approach that is made easier in Chianti Classico relative to other regions because of the generally benign climate, the last few vintages excepted. Winemaking today favors far more freshness, energy and vibrancy than in the preceding generation. This is especially notable in the wines of the big estates, where the transition is notable, rather than in the wines of younger estates that are essentially born with today’s aesthetic. Needless to say, a more nuanced approach works especially well for Sangiovese and at estates where communicating the expression of place is an increasing focus. In many ways, the vibe in Chianti Classico reminds me of what is happening in Champagne, where both established producers and young growers are pushing each other, leading to wines that are better than ever in all styles.

Luca Orsini and Valeria Viganò, transplants from Rome and Milan, have taken Le Cinciole to a peak of excellence that places their winery among the very top estates in Chianti Classico.

The Wines of Chianti Classico

Chianti Classico continues to offer some of the best values in wine. This is a brief overview of the main categories.

Chianti Classico Annata – These are the entry-level bottlings for the vast majority of states. Although sometimes looked past in favor of more ‘important’ offerings, the Annatas are the best wines to understand a producer’s style. The finest examples, especially those made from estate fruit, offer plenty of expression of place without the dominant character of any single vineyard or strong winemaking signatures often used in top bottlings. Chianti Classico Annata remains one of the most compelling values in Old World wines with a sense of place.

Chianti Classico Riserva – This is the sweet spot for consumers with a little more room in their budgets. The wines are a bit more expensive than the Annatas, but the top examples offer notable quality, pedigree and aging potential. Because most estates have made these wines for many years or decades, the styles are much more dialed in than they are with the Gran Seleziones. In an important vintage like 2021, Riserva is a great place to focus.

Chianti Classico Gran Selezione – Technically the top category within Chianti Classico. I am pleased to report that the quality of the Gran Seleziones is improving. In most years, I encounter a few wines that simply don’t merit this designation. Thankfully, that is less so the case today. Gran Selezione is interpreted quite differently from estate to estate. At times, the wines carry the strong signatures of a single vineyard and/or are made with a focus on concentration that can be overdone. The best examples are compelling, but many wines are clearly works in progress, wines where producers are still fine-tuning their approach. The recent change to eliminate international varieties starting from the 2027 vintage is another step in a positive direction. The permitted blend will then be 90% Sangiovese, with the remaining 10% consisting of indigenous Italian varieties, including Canaiolo, Ciliegiolo and Colorino. Consumers will also note that Gran Seleziones can now be labeled with their UGA, with the exception of Montefioralle, Vagliagli and Lamole, which will be authorized for use in 2027.

IGT – These wines don’t fit into any of the classic appellations. It’s a confusing category, as these can be anything from entry-level quaffers to an estate’s most prestigious wines, including numerous Sangiovese-based wines from elite producers who choose not to use the Chianti Classico designation. The best approach here is to rely on the quality of single estates.

Giorgio Serao and Giovanna Morganti are on a roll at Le Boncie, where the wines have exploded in quality in recent years. Le Boncie represents the finest of the vigneron spirit in Chianti Classico.

I tasted all the wines in this report during a trip to Chianti Classico in June 2024. A few producers had not bottled their wines at the time of my tastings. These include Caparsa and Jurij Fiore. I will endeavor to taste those wines as soon as possible.

© 2024, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

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