2022 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna del Sorbo

The 2022s at Fontodi are more than worthy follow-ups to the 2021. Proprietor Giovanni Manetti describes 2022 as a year with a wet winter and naturally low yields on the vine going into the more critical summer months. “We lost the entire western portion of our estate, which accounts for 25-30% of our total production,” Manetti reported in describing the effects of the August 15 storm that ripped through parts of Panzano. Manetti was among the producers who opted to pick a touch early rather than risk wines with excessively high sugars. As a result, the wines are a bit shy today and a bit more reticent than they can be. Lighter extractions and a gradual move towards larger format oak are among the stylistic choices that have also given these wines a bit more energy than in the recent past. I was reminded of that when I tasted the 2015 Flaccianello after the current releases. The 2015 remains quite young and just as striking as it has always been. At the same time, the stylistic evolution here over last decade is impossible to miss.