2004 Chianti Classico Castello di Ama

Winemaker Marco Pallanti feels that the 2004s are the best wines he has made in some time, though fans of this estate know that Castello di Ama shows an uncanny and widely recognized Latour-like ability to excel in difficult vintages. Marco himself isn't sure of why this might be, though ruthless selection and high quality standards tell part of the story: 200,000 bottles of Chianti were made in '04 but only 70,000 in '03. The Apparita '03 is right up there with the best merlots Italy has ever produced.

No single producer has done more to promote an upscale image for Chianti Classico than Marco Pallanti and Castello di Ama. While the vast majority of estates market their top selections under the more fashionable IGT designation Ama continues to label their top bottlings as Chianti Classico. Perhaps for that reason Pallanti was recently elected as President for the Consorzio del Chianti Classico. Highly respected as well as admired by his colleagues, Pallanti appears to be the perfect choice to move the Consorzio forward. Castello di Ama's style could be synthesized as relying on low yields from old vineyards planted at high altitudes. The soil types range from those that are richer in clay, to those that feature a higher content of gravel and pebbles. The estate releases three Chianti Classicos. The normal bottling is typically one of the best wines in the region. In top vintages the single-vineyard Chianti Classicos La Casuccia and Bellavista are also produced. When vintages are deemed to be good enough to produce the selections the fruit from those plots is added to the normal Chianti Classico, as was the case in both 2002 and 2003. La Casuccia is divided into 17 parcels planted at 480 to 526 meters, with soils that are mostly composed of clay and limestone. The wine is a blend of 80% Sangiovese and 20% Merlot, which gives the wine its characteristic round, supple character. At Bellavista the vines are planted at similar altitudes ranging from 456 to 530 meters, but the soils are a combination of clay and rocks. Ama's Chianti Classico Bellavista contains 20% Malvasia Nera in the blend, which gives the wine much of its structure. Ama also produces the distinctive single-vineyard Merlot, L'Apparita, from the upper portion of the Bellavista vineyard.