2012 Chianti Classico Rubiolo

Readers are going to see some pretty significant changes at Gagliole in the next few years. After much thought and consideration, owner Thomas Bär and his long-time oenologist Stefano Chioccioli have decided to pursue a more gentle approach to extraction and winemaking overall. The 2012s and 2013s I sampled were among the most impressive wines I tasted while preparing this article. The new wines are still built on fruit and texture, but they are also much more expressive to site and variety. If the wines I tasted from barrel end up making it into bottle with the same purity, they will be among the very best modern-style wines in all of Tuscany.