Felsina –
Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia: A Complete Retrospective 1983-2011<a target="_blank" href="http://vinousmedia.com/wines?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;q=felsina&amp;wine_filter%5Barticle_id%5D=26&amp;commit=Search&amp;wine_filter%5Bproducer_id%5D=&amp;wine_filter%5Bvintage_range_min%5D=&amp;wine_filter%5Bvintage_range_max%5D=&amp;wine_filter%5Bscore_range_min%5D=&amp;wine_filter%5Bscore_range_max%5D=&amp;wine_filter%5Bprice_range_min%5D=&amp;wine_filter%5Bprice_range_max%5D=&amp;wine_filter%5Breview_date_year_range_min%5D=&amp;wine_filter%5Breview_date_year_range_max%5D=&amp;wine_filter%5Bcolor%5D=&amp;wine_filter%5Bcountry%5D=&amp;wine_filter%5Bauthor%5D=">See all the wines here</a><div>I will never forget this once in a lifetime tasting of Felsina’s
flagship Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia. What started out as a casual survey
of a few older vintages turned into a complete vertical as proprietor Giuseppe
Mazzocolin and long-time oenologist Franco Bernabei surprised me with bottle
after bottle of fabulous Rancias going back to the inaugural 1983.&nbsp; <img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1373858841952-Rancia+vinous+article.jpg"> </div>

A few days after this tasting I received a complete lab analysis
of all the wines, one of the most valuable pieces data I have ever seen, and a
presentation worthy of serious wine scholarship. The single biggest takeaway
from this tasting is the amazing consistency of the wines across all vintages.
Considering its modest price, Rancia remains one the most fairly priced, cellar
worthy wines in the world. 

As great as Rancia can be, the straight Riserva makes a fine
substitute at about half the price. I learned that lesson recently at Maialino
in New York City, where Wine Director Liz Nicholson served me a fabulous bottle
of the 1995. I have to say there is something about the wines of the 1980s and
mid 1990s that go straight to the heart.

Giuseppe Mazzocolin describes his early wines from the 1980s as
the huge challenges to make because he constantly had to convince his vineyard
workers to drop fruit, something that was a culture shock and that seemed like
an enormous waste of money given the mindset of the time. If present-day
vintages develop only half as well readers will be in for a treat as those
wines mature. Readers will notice that the early wines from the 1980s were
called Vigneto Rancia, rather than simply Rancia, which became the norm beginning
in 1990. The wine has been made from the same parcel since the first year.

Felsina Chianti
Classico Riserva Rancia Key Points: 

1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 100% Sangiovese aged in French oak
barrels 

2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Made from the Rancia vineyard, a
high-altitude site in the south of the Chianti Classico appellation 

3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Combines power and elegance

4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Aging potential: 20-30 years

-- Antonio Galloni

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