Chianti Classico: The Brilliant 2021s & Variable 2020s

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | AUGUST 29, 2023

It’s a fabulous time for readers who love Chianti Classico. The wines have never been better, as evidenced by both the growing number of estates making gorgeous Chianti Classicos and the stylistic breadth those wines encompass. The 2021s in particular are some of the most exciting young wines I have tasted in more than 25 years of visiting the region.

Michele Braganti at Monteraponi is among the growers who have made significant strides in quality in recent years.

Getting a Handle on Recent Vintages

Chianti Classico is one of the most nuanced regions readers will come across. Getting a handle on vintages is not especially easy. Much of this has to do with the expansiveness of an appellation that spans more than 70,000 hectares (173,000 acres) of land, of which less than 10,000 are planted to wine grapes. Forests and land dedicated to the cultivation of other crops account for the vast majority of the terrain. That’s quite a contrast to key appellations in Bordeaux, Napa Valley, the Côte d’Or or the Langhe, where contiguous vineyards span large stretches of land in the monoculture that characterizes many wine regions today. A quick look at a map will show that today’s wineries and vineyards in Chianti Classico are the modern-day remnants of large, self-sustaining communities that were once owned by the noble class and worked by sharecropping families going back to Medieval times.

Moreover, the taster today – professional or consumer – is confronted with a vast range of new releases. In 2023, these include fresh 2022 reds, a bevy of 2021 Chianti Classicos and then an even larger selection of 2020 Riservas, Gran Seleziones and other single-vineyard wines, plus a smattering of releases from prior years. Because of this, new releases from Chianti Classico do not have a strong association with vintages in the way that wines from other regions do, with exceptions for years that are especially strong or poor. That said, in looking at vintages 2021 and 2020, both vintages have very clear personalities, even though the factors that shaped the wines differ from estate to estate, as do producers’ own views.