2010 Vignamaggio Castello di Monna Lisa Chianti Classico Riserva Gran Selezione is sold out.

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  • 93 pts Vinous
    93 pts Vinous
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2010 Vignamaggio Castello di Monna Lisa Chianti Classico Riserva Gran Selezione 750 ml

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2010 Vignamaggio Gran Selezione Riserva: NYC, May 13, 2015

Nearly every art aficionado who visits Le Louvre can’t help but wade through the crowds to get a look at the most famous half-smile the world has ever known. In 1503, a well-known sculptor, painter, and scientist was commissioned to do a portrait of a then-24-year-old Tuscan woman. The artist’s name was Leonardo. His subject’s was Mona Lisa.

But next time you visit Paris, take an extra moment. Look behind Mona Lisa’s smirk at Da Vinci’s rendering of the Tuscan hillsides, the vineyards, and cypress trees. Then, imagine yourself outside Gianni Nunziante’s Vignamaggio — as we were — seated on the terrace outside the castle, looking out on the same brush-stroke landscape that so mesmerized the master nearly 500 years ago.

Nunziante, an attorney, purchased this sprawling 400-acre property in 1988. Set in the heart of Chianti Classico, a stone’s throw from Greve in Chianti, Vignamaggio had long underperformed compared to its star-studded neighbors. But not long after Signor Nunziante poured a fortune into Vignamaggio’s olive groves, wine cellar, and 52 hectares of vines, quality skyrocketed. 2008 was Vignamaggio’s breakout year, drawing raves from Antonio Galloni, the most respected Italian wine critic in the world.

But with the release of the staggering 2010 Chianti Classico Riserva Gran Selezione Castello di Monna Lisa — first unveiled on May 13th in N.Y.C. — Vignamaggio solidified its position among the Tuscan elite, standing shoulder to shoulder with Isole e Olena, Fontodi, Felsina, and Antinori.

Drawn from the best barrels of Chianti Classico Riserva, the 2010 Monna Lisa Gran Selezione is absolutely stupendous. Brilliant dark-ruby to the rim. Lavish aromas of crushed black raspberry, cherry, and violets, laced with Asian spice and new-wood cedar. Big, broad, and voluptuous on the attack — in many ways, far more Brunello-like than Chianti Classico — filled with a juicy gumbo of black cherry, licorice, and clove. A small addition of broad-shouldered Cabernet Sauvignon and plump Merlot both fills out and buttresses one of the most exquisite Gran Seleziones of the year, arguing powerfully for a 10- to 15-year slumber in a cool cellar.

93 points from Galloni. $52 on release. $30/bottle today ONLY on WineAccess. Shipping included on 4.