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  • 91+ pts Vinous
    91+ pts Vinous
  • 91 pts Wine Advocate
    91 pts RPWA
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2013 Dievole Chianti Classico 750 ml

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  • Curated by unrivaled experts
  • Choose your delivery date
  • Temperature controlled shipping options
  • Get credited back if a wine fails to impress

Wine Advocate’s “Come-back Kid”

In December 2015, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate published its list of the Top Italian Wines and Values of the Year. Not surprisingly, some of Italy’s most revered estates were well represented, including the 2007 Vietti Barolo Riserva Villero (100 points), the 2010 Isole e Olena Chianti Classico Riserva Gran Selezione (96 points), and the wonderfully mineral 2013 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Bianco (94 points).

But when the dust settled, certainly the most surprising Wine Advocate selection was the Dievole Chianti Classico from Tuscany’s terrific 2013 vintage. The 2013 Dievole shared center stage with Vietti, Isole e Olena, and Ornellaia, earning a glowing Wine Advocate review unlike any we’ve read in years for an under-$20 Tuscan red.

Here’s why.

The 2013 vintage in Chianti Classico got off to a late start with a cool, damp spring. The fruit set was small at Dievole. Even so, we were told at VinItaly two weeks ago, there was ample reason for concern. Ripening was slow and stubborn. After a cool August, the late-maturing Sangiovese vines were a couple weeks behind. With low-pressure systems bringing continued risk of hail and the lurking risk of frost if the call to harvest was delayed to mid- or late October, even billionaire proprietor Alejandro Bulgheroni had ample cause for consternation.

But as we’ve long said, growing seasons are rarely made or broken in the spring and summer months. The drama really begins about a month before harvest. Had September been as chilly as October, The Wine Advocate would have likely pooh-poohed the 2013 Dievole Chianti Classico. But when the bright Tuscan sun finally broke through, the vines regrouped and then sprinted to the finish line. Harvest took place under near perfect conditions. Yields were small, but sugars, acids, and tannins were perfect.

This really is a classic performance from Dievole, Chianti Classico as it rarely is — deep, dark, and brooding yet infused with exquisite wild-berry purity, piercing acidity, and sumptuous tannic cut. 91 points from The Wine Advocate. 91+ more from Antonio Galloni’s Vinous.

As fine as Tuscan reds ever get at $16.99/bottle — shipping included on 6.