San Giusto a Rentennano Chianti Classico: 2001-1990

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | AUGUST 28, 2023

When was the last time a grower presented a vertical of their entry-level wine where the youngest vintage was more than twenty years old? Never, in my experience. That’s exactly what Luca Martini di Cigala did during my most recent visit to San Giusto a Rentennano. It was a remarkable tasting and a fitting continuation of themes I explored last year in my report on vintages 2002 through 2010.

I have long sung the praises of Chianti Classico and its wines well before the wave of interest currently sweeping through the region. Not just the most famous wines from the top estates but also the straight Chianti Classicos that every producer offers as their entry-level bottling. Readers might be amused to learn that the first wine article I ever published was on Chianti Classico, some 25 years ago. Time and experience have taught me these wines often age beautifully. And they cost a fraction of the more coveted wines. This vertical offered plenty of data points to support those views. 

Producers sometimes cherry-pick the best vintages for vertical tastings, happily showing the best wines while quietly putting aside those that did not turn out well for whatever reason. Not here. Over the years, I have tasted many wines at San Giusto, including complete verticals of La Ricolma and Percarlo flagships. Luca Martini di Cigala has consistently shown all vintages in verticals, the good, the great and the maybe not-so-great, always offering candid and, at times, brutally critical views of his wines. That constant drive to learn and improve is precisely what makes San Giusto one of the top estates in the world today.