2016 Vignamaggio Chianti Classico Gherardino Riserva 750 ml

From the highest-scoring Chianti Classico vintage in the history of Wine Advocate, Vignamaggio has crafted their most powerful, complex Gherardino Riserva yet. 

This is as classic as Chianti gets. Endlessly intricate, the estate-bottled 2016 Gherardino Riserva stuck with us long after our tasting, and it wowed critics the same way. James Suckling’s 94-point review lauded its “brightness and finesse” and called it “complex”—as did Wine Spectator—and Vinous's Antonio Galloni said “it would be a shame to miss.”

This 2016 began on Vignamaggio’s estate sites in the heart of Chianti, including an area nicknamed the “Conca d’Oro” (Golden Basin), coveted for its sun-drenched hillsides and Galestro soils—ideal terroir from which to produce full-bodied, expressive Sangiovese. 

Vignamaggio has crafted a pristine reflection of the incredible 2016 vintage, of which Galloni said “I can’t remember the last time I was this excited about Chianti Classico and its wines.” Aromas of dark fruit, red roses, tobacco, and rosemary, lead to a palate layered with red fruit, earth, and spice. 

Grown on 20- to 30-year-old vines (primarily Sangiovese with a dollop of Merlot for volume and richness), the Gherardino Riserva sees a minimum of two years of aging between barrel and bottle. The natural opulence is balanced by the structure of the 2016 vintage, which Vinous praised as producing wines with “superb aromatic presence, silky tannins, layered fruit and fabulous sense of harmony.”

Simply put, this is a timeless Tuscan classic.