Reviews

Chianti Classico
«Cigar Clan» №2(32) April-May 2007

For over six hundred years winemakers of Tuscany have produced one of the best known Italian wines — Chianti.

Its story started on the lands between Florence and Siena — today both cities are capitals of the great Tuscan wine. On the high hills, in the very heart of the region lies Chianti Classico, a prestigious winemaking area where the best Chianti wines are born.

Picturesque Chianti region inspired many an Italian artist and poet and it has long been known for production of wines. Since the late medieval times, vineyards confined by the suburbs of Florence in the north, Chianti hills in the east, Siena in the south and the valleys of Pesa and Elsa rivers in the west yielded some of the most renowned red wines in Tuscany. Their success caused appearance of counterfeits which made Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo III pass an edict regarding Chianti wine production. It was a first historic document that formally defined the borders of the eponymous winemaking area. Gaiole, Castellina and Radda were the nucleus of the zone.

By the end of the 19th century Chianti wines were so popular in Italy and abroad that the government decided to better exploit their commercial potential. It allowed the less prestigious neighbouring Tuscan areas to produce wine under Chianti label. In 1932 a ministerial decree was passed. It described a new, expanded territory of production. Historic vineyards were renamed as Chianti Classico. Their status of the “oldest zone of wine origin” was confirmed, yet there was no additional protection for its wines. As a result, the prestigious winemaking area covered only ten percent of the total lands. The boundaries of Chianti and Chianti Classico have not been reviewed since.

Liberal governmental policy of the early 20th century was coolly met by the supporters of the idea of an authentic wine. In 1924, long before the new law was enforced, representatives of 33 historic estates joined a voluntary organization known as the Consortium for the protection of the typical Chianti wine and its name by origin. With years the organization changed name several times, but the Black Rooster continued to be its permanent symbol to reflect the image and be a guarantor of wine’s quality.

In 1967 all Chianti area received the status of a production zone with controlled origin. Twenty years later it was awarded the highest denomination in the Italian wine hierarchy — of controlled and guaranteed name of origin. Chianti Classico remained as a subzone inside the general appellation.

In 1996 Chianti Classico finally acquired an independent position. Its production is regulated by different rules to those of Chianti. Two years ago the last major breakthrough took place. A unified powerful consortium was formed after a merger of two independent organizations — Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico that before was responsible for the technical control of production norms and Consorzio del Gallo Nero that concentrated work on promotion under the emblem of the Black Rooster. Now the association counts over 600 winemaking estates which produce over 95 percent of all wine. From a simple trademark, the Black Rooster turned into a true symbol of the Chianti Classico wine zone.

Black Rooster may be a great emblem of Chianti Classico, yet the true soul of its wines belongs to Sangiovese grape. The native of the Florentine lands, it is known in Tuscany at least from the middle of the 14th century.

Sangiovese is a fickle variety requiring utmost attention from the winegrower and the winemaker. It ripens late and irregularly — that presents a challenge during harvest. One can see bunches where ripe violet berries are mixed with unripe green ones on the plots with uneven sun exposure or in a rainy season. Such heterogeneous ripening influences the quality of wine. Picking Sangiovese grapes takes place later than for many other red varieties. Unpredictable autumn weather with rain or cold can spoil the quality in the very last moment.

Another problem with Sangiovese is that it has large bunches and high yields. Right clones and careful cultivation is one of the key conditions for successful work. Sangiovese is also prone for genetic mutations. Winemakers talk about several hundred of clones, not all of which give quality results. In the late 1980s an ambitious project for Sangiovese clonal research started in Chianti Classico and continues today. Out of 239 options seven subtypes of Sangiovese were officially selected and approved under the name of Chianti Classico-2000.

Sangiovese tannins (a polyphenolic component of any red wine that is responsible for structure and aging) represent another difficulty for winemakers. They are not as supple and rounded as, for example, in Merlot. This demands extra skill in their handling. Perhaps, it was one of the reasons why Baron Ricasoli, the author of the famous Chianti formula in the mid-19th century, offered to add some white grapes to Sangiovese. No selection in vineyards and lack of knowledge about vinification back in those days resulted in astringent wines. They had to be aged for years in order to soften their rough tannic structure. Addition of white varieties gave an opportunity to improve the taste of wine and to mask tannins. Later this idea ended up tragically for Chianti reputation as mass production in the middle of the last century used up to 30 percent of white grapes and hugely distorted wine’s authentic character. Today winemakers know that Sangiovese tannins can be managed when the grapes are harvested at ideal ripeness.

According to the reviewed production code, Chianti Classico wines can include between 80 and 100 percent of Sangiovese. The share of the secondary red grapes is limited to twenty percent and the white varieties are excluded. Wines are sold after 1 October of the year following the harvest. Chianti Classico Riserva are aged in the cellars for at least twenty four months.

Best wines of the area feature ripe red fruit and berries with dominating fresh or dried cherry tones. One can also find plum, raspberry, strawberry, both fresh and jam-like. They are often joined by nuances of spices and herbs. Chianti Classico wines are seldom heavy. Combined with higher acidity, this makes them ideal gastronomic partners. In the meantime, substantial tannic structure allows wines to evolve for many years. Their depth and complexity put them above normal Chianti wines. Chianti Classico Riservas are characterized by additional flavours of chocolate, leather, tar, prunes, minerals and spices; they are more persistent in taste.

Chianti landscapes have always had countryside features. Vineyards share the hills with olive groves, cypress alleys, lonely umbrella pines and wild woods.

For centuries this territory remained the scene of bloody battlefields between Florence and Siena. Thus, castles and fortifications were built next to villages, chapels and monasteries. In the peacetime some of them were partially reconstructed into villas and residences.

Virtually up to the middle of the last century relationships between land owners and peasants were based on the system of sharecropping. A large estate (fattoria) was divided into a dozen of smaller farms (podere) where families lived and worked. The land was the source of income through traditional growing of grain, corn, grapes, olives and breeding sheep and chickens. Land owners had rights for half of the yields, the rest went to peasants. Many estates, like the landscape planning remained from those days. The names of many wineries still feature words castello, villa, fattoria and podere — like in Castello di Fonterutoli, Villa Cafaggio, Fattoria San Guisto a Rentennano and others.

A slow paced Chiantigiana road, one of the most beautiful in Italy, passes through Chianti hills between Florence and Siena. Each turn, each ascent and descent open lovely views of vineyards and woods, castles and towns built in stone — the unique and inimitable romantic landscapes of Tuscany.

Chianti Classico geological formations also show great variety. The ancient communes of Panzano, Gaiole and Castellina, for example, go down to the Siena basin where the waters of a prehistoric lake were lapping once. Galestro, a crumbly limestone and sandstone rock is the most common type of terrain. Loamy alberese is often found in the centre and south of Chianti Classico. There are many other types of soil; gravel and rocks also feature nearly on all plots. Chianti hills go up to 800 metres, whereas vineyards grow at the height of 250-600 metres above sea level. Fresh air currents come from the Tyrrhenian Sea — they ventilate the lands of Chianti Classico. Best vineyards are planted on the southern and south-eastern slopes. They help grapes to mature slowly during a long Mediterranean summer with hot days and cool nights.

The mosaic of landscapes, soils, expositions and microclimates means that Chianti Classico wines differ in style from one vineyard to another. Administrative boundaries of communes do not reflect these nuances so one has to rely on a producer’s reputation in order to choose a wine. Recently a far reaching project was launched in Chianti Classico. It studies landscapes, soils and best winemaking practices and may lead to a formal classification of vineyards like in Burgundy. This will be a great breakthrough for understanding the area’s terroirs.

In the meantime, modern reputation of Chianti Classico is built by the group of iconoclasts who — while respecting tradition of a great wine — never stop researching the soils and the grapes and are not afraid to experiment with new approaches and techniques. Antinori, Castello di Ama, Isole e Olena, Castello di Fonterutoli, Barone Ricasoli, Felsina, Fontodi, Querciabella are but a few glorious names who have laid a strong foundation to the present and future of Chianti Classico wines.

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The symbol of Black Rooster has long links with political and military history of Chianti Classico. There is a legend that describes its appearance in the middle ages in connection with military rivalry between Florence and Siena.

In order to put end to continuous wars, the opponents found a rather unusual way out. Two horse riders were to leave the respective cities with the cry of the first rooster at the sunrise. The new boundary of the territory would be drawn at their meeting point. Such solution was quite common in those days.

The result of the competition depended more on a bird that a rider or a horse. Siena citizens chose a big white rooster while the Florentines found a small black one, put it in a cage and gave little to eat. In the much awaited day when the Florentines let the black rooster out of the cage it cried well before the sunrise. It allowed the Florentine rider to leave earlier than his opponent from Siena who had to wait until the first rays of sun and the awakening of the white rooster. Thus, nearly all Chianti area got under control of the Florentine Republic. Later Siena was incorporated, too.

After this historic event Black Rooster became emblem of the Chianti military coalition that defended the Florentine Republic. In the mid-16th century Giorgio Vasari, a great Italian artist, painted a black rooster as an allegory of Chianti on the ceiling of one of the halls in Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. Since 1924 Black Rooster had been a symbol of Chianti Classico wines.

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In the middle of the 19th century Baron Bettino Ricasoli, owner of Brolio estate, successor of a long winemaking dynasty and a key political figure of Italy (he was twice prime minister of the united state) undertook a detailed research of Tuscan, Bordeaux and other grape varieties. He experimented a lot in own vineyards as well as traveled around Italy and France. His work resulted in a famous Chianti formula that confirmed that the best wine on the territory of Chianti Classico comes from Sangiovese. He appreciated the grape for “aromas, grace and smoothness” and urged that Sangiovese should take the majority of vineyards in that part of Tuscany. Ricasoli’s formula was a forbearer of modern production rules for Chianti Classico wines.