“The 2020 vintage of Chianti Classico from Querciabella is a beautiful wine on both the nose and palate. Readers may recall that this bottling is made from one hundred percent sangiovese, raised in a combination of barriques and tonneaux and with ten percent of the oak new each year. The 2020 version comes in at fourteen percent octane and offers up a beautifully complex nose of cherries, red plums, cigar wrapper, lovely spice tones, a lovely foundation of soil, 28 gentle notes of cedar and a dollop of fresh oregano in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and complex, with a lovely core of fruit, fine soil inflection, moderate tannins and fine length and grip on the well-balanced finish. This is certainly approachable today, but a year or two in the cellar will allow the backend tannins to fall away completely and the wine to drink with a more velvety texture. First class Chianti. 2023-2045+.”

The 2019 Camartina from Querciabella was once again raised in only twenty percent new oak, which gives it a far less new oaky personality from most of its contemporary Super Tuscans. The wine is made from its customary cépages of seventy percent cabernet sauvignon and thirty percent sangiovese and comes in at 14.5 percent alcohol in 2019. The wine delivers a beautifully refined bouquet of red and black cherries, cigar ash, a complex base of soil tones, a gentle touch of fresh oregano, woodsmoke and cedary oak. On the palate the wine is deep, pure and full-bodied, with great focus and grip, a superb core of fruit, outstanding soil inflection, ripe, buried tannins and a long, tangy and beautifully complex, balanced finish. This is a great wine in the making. 2035-2085.

An organic blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Sangiovese, the 2019 Camartina (in a heavy glass bottle) shows dark fruit nuances with savory tobacco and spice. This wine is mostly driven by the heft and concentration of the French grape, but it also shows some of the bright cherry and freshness of the Italian grape. Some 10,000 bottles were released.

“The 2019 Chianti Classico “Riserva” from Querciabella is a simply outstanding young wine. The Riserva bottling is made from a vineyard selection across the prime parcels the winery owns in the townships of Greve, Radda and Gaiole, with all of these parcels in the highest altitudes in the villages. The wine is raised in twenty percent new oak for fourteen to sixteen months prior to bottling and the 2019 version comes in at fourteen percent octane. It offers up a beautifully complex bouquet of red and black cherries, cigar smoke, black tea, lavender, fresh oregano, a touch of smoked meats, lovely minerality and cedar. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and nicely structured, with superb depth at the core, lovely soil undertow, fine-grained tannins and 31 excellent balance on the long, focused and extremely promising finish. This needs some time in the cellar to blossom, but it is going to be outstanding wine once it starts to emerge. 2029-2075.”

“Supple and intense, this red is saturated with black cherry, blackberry, floral, wild herb and mineral aromas and flavors. As this plays out on the long finish, the solid structure is well-covered by flesh. Offers fine harmony and expression. Best from 2024 through 2040.”