2011 Flaccianello della Pieve

There is quite a bit to report from Fontodi. Proprietor Giovanni Manetti has a new wine this year, the 2013 Dino (dedicated to Manetti's father), which is 100% Sangiovese fermented in terra cotta amphora and aged with no added sulfites. The Manetti family has long operated businesses in a number of sectors outside of wine, one of them being the production of terra cotta amphoras, a vessel once used in the storage of olive oil as well as wine. Manetti's amphora Sangiovese is interesting because the fruit and overall style is very much classic Fontodi - which is to say intense and polished - yet the amphora clearly allows for a very direct expression of Sangiovese. It will be interesting to see how the Dino ages in bottle. The other big development is the transition of the Vigna del Sorbo to 100% Sangiovese now that the Cabernet Sauvignon vines have been completely ripped out. Vinous readers know I regard the Sorbo as Fontodi's flagship wine. While the 2012 is truly stratospheric, so is the Flaccianello. Judging by those two wines, it is clear Mother Nature smiled on Fontodi in 2012, a year that was much less favorable for other properties. When all is said and done, Fontodi produced not one, but two wines of the vintage. The only negative is that the international wines - the Syrah and Pinot Noir - are increasingly out of place here. This is Sangiovese territory, after all. Readers who can find Fontodi's 2012s should not hesitate, as they are truly magnificent.

Fontodi fans have a lot to look forward to in these new and upcoming releases. The 2011 Chiantis and Flaccianello are gorgeous, especially within the context of a vintage that was especially warm here, in the heart of Panzano's Conca d'Oro. As readers will read in these notes, the 2011s have off the chart levels of polyphenols and acidity, an alluring and unusual combination to say the least. The new amphora-aged Dino shows proprietor Giovanni Manetti is not content to rest on his laurels. For more on Fontodi, readers might enjoy this short video interview shot with Manetti right after last year's complete vertical of the flagship Vigna del Sorbo. On that subject, Manetti is one of the few proponents of the Gran Selezione designation to use that label on his best wine, the Vigna del Sorbo, although in truth most people would probably say Flaccianello is the flagship. It goes without saying, but it would be great to see Manetti's colleagues show the same courage and conviction in a designation that is meant to highlight the best of Chianti Classico.