Reviews

Chianti Classico Launches Collection
Business Special Report, issue 1

At the end of winter producers of the famous Italian wine zone Chianti Classico once again invited professionals, journalists and critics to assess their new wines.

This tasting is an annual event that takes place in Florence. Until recently it was known as Anteprima, or preview tasting. The guests of the event enjoy a unique opportunity. They are the first to taste finished wines to be released for sale as well as new samples which are still maturing in oak barrels.

Starting from this year the tasting in Florence will be known as Chianti Classico Collection. Its format though remains virtually unchanged. As before, experts are offered to taste about 400 regional wines of different vintages and categories — either in a hall where wines are served by professional sommeliers or at the tables with winemakers. But why change the name of the event if the format stays the same?

President of producers’ consortium Marco Pallanti believes that the new name better reflects the current organization of the event. The number of participants has significantly increased during 15 years of running the tasting, and the present list includes almost all producers of Chianti Classico. The table laid with wine samples is at least twenty meters long and bears a good resemblance to a wine podium. Wines have been represented in “collections” of Chianti Classico and Chianti Classico Riserva for quite a long time, and within them they are also grouped by vintage.

Hopefully Chianti Classico Collection will draw attention not only to new wine releases but also to the work which has been accomplished by the wineries of the zone on their own or in a group effort during the past several years. The qualitative progress of Chianti Classico is quite impressive, and the consortium continues to strengthen a new image of the region which is aimed at making consumers associate Chianti Classico wines with prestige and quality. New re-branding with a use of Black Rooster symbol on each Chianti Classico bottle (to distinguish it from ordinary Chianti), advertising budgets and promotion of the wines on different markets have already resulted in sales growth. If the strategy is preserved, Chianti Classico wines are sure to become as popular as their celebrated Tuscan rivals Brunello di Montalcino in the near future. In the meantime, top wines of the region from producers such as Antinori, Castello di Ama, Castello di Brolio, Castello di Fonterutoli, Felsina, Fontodi, Isole e Olena, have already gained an envious reputation.

So what did the latest tasting show? In the next few months Chianti Classico 2006 will be released on the market. After picking the grapes winegrowers and winemakers enthusiastically praised the quality of the harvest and described it as the best in the recent decades (although Tuscany, like some other wine areas, appears to be affected by the climate change, with a string of successful vintages. The harvest in 2007 was also proclaimed excellent). The tasting provided good evidence to their words. Many wines feature rich ruby color, appealing aromas and flavors of ripe cherries and berries, and freshness. The texture is smooth and silky thanks to soft and perfectly ripe tannins which may make wine astringent in less favorable years. All in all, the wines have a refined balanced character and are a great proposition for the first Chianti Classico Collection.