Chianti Classico & Neighbors: Looking at the 2020s and 2019s

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | JULY 19, 2022

This year’s releases from Chianti Classico are a bit of a mixed bag. Most of that is attributable to the natural diversity of this large appellation and the unevenness of the 2019s. Even so, there are a lot of gorgeous wines in this report, many of them entry-level Chianti Classicos that offer superb quality for the money. As always, this report focuses on Chianti Classico, but also includes wines from neighboring appellations.

Lorenza Sebasti and Marco Pallanti made some of the greatest wines I have ever tasted at Castello di Ama.

A First Look at 2020

An early bout of intensely cold weather that reached frost levels in some places was the first significant event of the 2020 growing season. “Budbreak was especially challenging; we lost 15% of the production right away,” Filippo Mazzei explained at Fonterutoli. There was quite a bit of rain in May. Vines responded by setting a lower crop, which turned out to be a positive later on.

"We had one very hot week in the middle of September that accelerated our harvest. It felt like the grapes might dehydrate on the vine. That was followed by heavy rain and cold weather,” Luca Martini di Cigala told me at San Giusto a Rentennano. “Our harvest started on September 30, about a week earlier than 2019 and 2021,” explained Martino Manetti at Montevertine. Some estates saw a very condensed harvest, as was the case at Gagliole, where all the fruit came in during one week as opposed to the more typical 15-20 days. “Most of the year was marked by consistently warm weather, but with no shock events," Giuseppe Mazzocolin recounted at Fèlsina. "We were fortunate to have good ventilation throughout the most critical periods.”

Tasting a few 2020s at San Giusto a Rentennano, Gaiole.