One of the world’s most recognized and well-loved red wines, Chianti is nonetheless, a mystery to most wine drinkers, afficionados and novices alike. That may seem a bit odd, but given that Chianti is lost in the discussion of Italy’s wines is due to a great deal of confusion.
This confusion is easy to comprehend, given that many people associate Chianti with Chianti Classico. This latter wine is made from a production zone between the Tuscan cities of Florence (Firenze) and Siena and has several centuries of history and good will behind it.
Yet, the zone for producing Chianti is much wider, and this offers a myriad of styles. History is also an important part of the Chianti story, as its origins date back to the local Etruscans, who first planted vines in this territory as far back as the 6th century A.D. Over the subsequent centuries, local growers bottled fresh offerings of Chianti that were appreciated by many, including the Medici family, among the most influential individuals of the Renaissance.
Production regulations were created over the next few hundred years, with Sangiovese being declared as the primary varietal in a Chianti blend, along with such local grapes as Canaiolo and Colorino (red), along with two local white varietals: Malvasia and Trebbiano. Today, these grapes are still used in Chianti blends, while more than 80 other varietals, such as Carignano, Merlot and Tempranillo as well as white varietals such as Moscato Bianco, Petit Manseng and Vermentino are allowed under disciplinare rules, though it would be somewhat unusual to find a Chianti today that includes these grapes.
Getting back to the territory where Chianti is produced, this zone comprises five provinces: Florence, Siena, Arezzo (east of Siena), Prato and Pistoia (both west of Florence), and to the far west, not too far from the Tyrrhenian Sea, the province of Pisa. Within these five provinces, there are seven subzones that are identified on the label of each wine, while a wine produced from more than one subzone is simply labeled as Chianti.
A humble Chianti may not receive plaudits from the critics, yet it represents this part of Tuscany as well as many of its more famous offerings. Made primarily from Sangiovese, the wine reflects the bright red cherry fruit this varietal is known for; at the same time, there is healthy natural acidity in most vintages that give these wines a freshness, harmony and admirable charm. All in all, these are very reasonably priced – in the $12-15 range on American retail shelves, and even less in certain instances – and are generally at their best from one to four years after the vintage date; pair Chianti normale with such foods as lighter pastas, grilled vegetables, or even a bowl of minestrone.
Getting back to the various subzones for Chianti, they represent various locales and terroirs in the production zone. There are seven subzones of Chianti: Chianti Colli Fiorentini, Chianti Rufina, Chianti Colli Senesi, Chianti Colli Aretini, Chianti Montalbano, Chianti Montespertoli and Chianti Colline Pisane. These territories are spread out over a wide area, ranging from northwest of the city of Florence (Chianti Rufina) to far eastern Tuscany (Chianti Colli Aretini, neat the city of Arezzo) to near the coastal area near Pisa (Chianti Colline Pisane).
Given the various elevation of the plantings, there are numerous microclimates, with the final result being subtle difference in the wines. As Chianti Rufina has the highest elevations, the wines from here can generally be described as having a longer aging potential than some of the other subzones; this is not written in stone of course, as it depends on several factors such as the weather during a particular growing season, or the stylings one producer may bring versus another, but it is a solid guideline.
Each subzone has its specific characteristics (most wines from Chianti Colli Fiorentini offer beautiful floral aromatics, while the offerings from Colli Senesi are delicate, with silky tannins), but taken as a whole, the producers in these seven subzones are experts are crafting wines that, first and foremost, are appealing expressions of Sangiovese.
Luca Alves, wine ambassador for the Consorzio Vino Chianti, has a thoughtful approach about the allure of these wines nowadays. He first points out that there has been a dramatic shift over the past 50-60 years, as growers and producers in these areas have changed their mindset from quantity to quality, resulting in smaller crops, but wines with more concentration and complexity. “The average quality of the wines of Chianti until the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s was up and down,” Alves comments. “We did have beautiful examples, but a lot of wineries produced not very convincing wines. But the quality increased a lot and is going to increase more and more.”
Also, the face of the vineyards have changed a lot, as Alves explains, with the new model of higher density planting (5000 to 6000 plants per hectare) replacing the older model (1500 to 2000 plants per hectare) in most vineyards. “We assimilated a lot the roots of the plants, to chase more and more micronutrients down, so to express more and more the identity of the soil and to concentrate this expression in fewer clusters.
“So less production, but more integrity, or intensity of the grapes, more structure, more pronounced aromatics, and so on. This cultivation method, this vision, of course, changed the face of the wines.”
Thus more complex, terroir-driven wines are the norm for today’s Chianti, which is a huge positive according to Alves. “The concept today is not to make an acceptable wine in the cellar, but it’s to produce a good wine or a great wine in the vineyard. It means to listen to the vineyard, to adapt your techniques.
“So nowadays the producer is making something that is completely different from the idea of the winemaker in the 1980s. Now the producers in some ways need to be psychologists, they need to listen to the vineyard, to daily spend a lot of time in the vineyard. Back in the days, it was not like this. I think that this rapport changed a lot the concept and the quality of the wine. Now the identity of the wines included in Chianti is more, what I would say, confidential, intimate and related to the producer itself.”
For Alves, diversity and drinkability are perhaps the two most important factors in today’s examples of Chianti. “One aspect that I always love to underline is diversity. You would never find a Chianti and that’s it. We have different Chianti, we have different expressions and categories of products, so we have different uses. Chianti annata then should be very fresh, very lively, very easy going; you can chill the bottle a little bit to consumer it fresher than usual.
“Sangiovese structure now is very friendly and it’s very useful, especially for the table. Never forget that Chianti was born and is still the best companion of the table. So we always have to understand that Chianti is part of the table. Not just a beverage, but wine as food. This is very important for us in Italy, and for us in Tuscany.”
Alves notes that along with Chianti annata, there are two other categories – or shades as he calls them – of Chianti. Chianti Superiore and Chianti Riserva. Chianti Superiore is a bit richer on the palate, with a minimum alcohol of 12%; it can be released to the marketplace no sooner than September 1, following the harvest.
Alves notes that these wines are often aged in oak and while they can be enjoyed upon release, they can be considered classic wines that evolve over time. He recalls a 2016 Chianti Superiore, aged in concrete vats and in the glass. “The result was a very round palate wine, very balanced, very soft in tannins, very generous; you have this sensation of red fruits, sometimes in between red and dark fruit.
“So very satisfying to the palate, even without the use of oak. Again, you can find both in Chianti, not just a single style. So it’s suspended in between the personal style of the producer and the contemporary use of the wine.”
As for Chianti Riserva, these are the most complex and often ageworthy examples of Chianti; they must be aged at the winery for a minimum of 24 months before they are commercially released. Alves defines Chianti riserva as “the maximum example we have for wines that need to age. It doesn’t mean they have to be better than annata or superiore, but better to age; it’s slightly different. The selection, normally it’s true there is some oak, normally I would say half and half, because half of our producers are still using botti grandi (large oak casks), so some passage that is not affecting the wine with big touches of vanilla or toasted notes, something more natural and tend to micro-oxygenate the wine. But we also have some wines that pass through French barriques, so we have a more international or so-called international style. There is space for both points of view in contemporary Chianti.
“I think that this diversity plus the natural diversity that we have in our subregion, which is very important, because Chianti – I think it’s still the main red wine appellation in Italy – accounts for seven subregions. So not just one or two, but seven subregions.”
Regarding the seven sub-regions, Alves loves to highlight this factor when talking about the wines of Chianti; it is important as well as arguably its most charming aspect. “I always say we have seven sub-regions, so you can have one wine per day. Since the week is composed of seven days, you can have a different Chianti each day.”
Few wine regions can make a claim such as that, so take advantage and enjoy the stylistic range and quality of Chianti whenever you can.
learnitalianwines - by tom hyland 