2012 Castellani Vigneti di Campomaggio Chianti Classico Riserva 750 ml

“If only all under-$20 wines tasted like this….”

We first met Piergiorgio Castellani, proprietor of Campomaggio and the head of one of Italy’s greatest wine families, in New York City. Given the company his wines regularly keep— on lavish restaurant wine lists like Jean Georges, Eleven Madison Park, Le Bernardin, and Auriole—we were excited to taste, but skeptical we’d ever get our hands on the wine, much less at a price we could afford. But that day, the brilliant Piergiorgio blew us away with two Chiantis that delivered incredible silkiness, complexity, and vibrant red fruit. Then, he told us the price, and we did a double-take before agreeing to take every bottle he had left.

The first, offered earlier this year, sold out in a flash. Today’s is the next step up—an even more luscious, 93-point stunner from Campomaggio, Castellani’s sister property. James Suckling marveled: “What a brightly fruited but seamlessly textured, full-bodied palate with crunchy fruit, velvety tannins, pretty acidity and a spicy finish.” If only all under-$20 wines tasted like this.

Today, we’re the only retailer in America with their exquisite 2012 Chianti Classico Riserva, a crimson wine aged to perfection in their cool, ancient barrel cellar in Tuscany at a price that’s simply unbeatable. A luscious Campomaggio, with complex and savory aromas forming a perfect harmony between Bing cherry, fresh plum, grilled meats, roasted chestnuts, cedar, and exotic spices, it’s a Sangiovese that’s ready to drink right now. Of course, like great Chianti, it has more than enough stuffing to last another five years, transforming its vibrant fruit flavors and firm tannins into velvety smooth ones, and bringing Campomaggio’s spicy, earthy tones to the forefront. It’s rare for wines to deliver Campomaggio’s level of complexity at $40, but this Riserva does so at less half the price.

As Wine Enthusiast wrote, “Castellani have been prominent members of the Tuscan wine community for nearly a century. Today under the guidance of the latest Castellani generation in the person of Piergiorgio this ancient family company is jockeying for a position as one of the top producers of Italy.”

Campomaggio is Piergiorgio’s 60-acre, 18th-century estate in the heart of Chianti Classico. Here, Sangiovese vines planted on limestone soils strewn with the area’s famous galestro pebbles produce refined, classic wines. As Piergiorgio told us, “Italy has an incredible and unique landscape, and Sangiovese grows all over the peninsula, but only in Tuscany is it capable of producing great wines at the levels of Chianti Classico, il Brunello, il Nobile — wines that are able to age while improving with time; and this only thanks to a unique combination of climate, soil, and tradition by which each region expresses in its own unique way.”

The 2012 Campomaggio Riserva grew from an excellent vintage in Chianti Classico. The early spring of 2012 was cool and dry, leading to a slightly later flowering than in recent vintages. Rains arriving in late spring prepared the vines for the hot, dry spell ahead, which started in June and carried on until late August. Anxieties were running high in Chianti until the rain clouds returned briefly, rehydrating the vines as canopies began to fully develop and berries began to enjoy a relatively speedy ripening. September and October were mild, allowing the fruit to complete the ripening cycle with excellent skin-to-juice ratios. The result: a concentrated harvest between the last week of September and first weeks of October, making for firmly structured, elegant, and rich wines.

In the cellar, the 2012 Riserva spent 24 months in traditional oak casks, which Piergiorgio prefers to barriques. “I like the complexity and harmony that large old Slavonian oak provides, he told us.” We couldn’t disagree—the notes of roasted chestnuts, cedar, and exotic spices complemented the brilliant fruit core of bing cherry and fresh plum in a magnificent way.

We were enchanted, and that was before he told us the price. Now, we’re all in. Most of us have stocked our personal cellars with cases. We invite you to do the same.