Chianti Classico, one of the world’s most celebrated wine regions, lies between the renowned Tuscan cities of Florence and Siena. Its land is characterised by the rocky hills of three river valleys—Val di Pesa, Val d’Arbia, Val di Greva—with the woods, meadows and cereals fields stippled by castles, manors and parishes. A landscape of incomparable beauty, its total surface covers 70,000 ha, of which only seven percent—only just 10,000 ha—are vineyards. Of this, a mere 7,200 ha belong to Chianti Classico.
Long history
Usually, people simply say ‘Chianti’ if they are thinking about red wine that comes from somewhere in the area. Producers themselves, however, are very careful to distinguish between the two different denomination of Chianti and Chianti Classico, the latter also known as Chianti Black Rooster, from its emblem. Chianti and Chianti Classico are two separate DOCG areas, with two different production rules and two Consortium; the first around 3,000 producers, the second one around 530. While the geographic Chianti area is limited to two provinces of Florence and Siena, Chianti wine can be produced in several parts of Tuscany, as Chianti Rufina, Chianti Colli Senesi, Chianti Colli Pisani, and others. As of 2010, Chianti cannot, however, be produced in the Chianti Classico area. The name “Chianti Classico” is reserved for the red wine produced in the Chianti Classico area, the place where everything began.
The origin of the name “Chianti” is unclear; according to some, it could come from the Etruscan name “Clante” (meaning step son or adopted son), while others suggest it comes from the Latin “clango” meaning the sound of battle. Probably neither is true; Italian linguist Massimo suggests the name may derive from the Etruscan Ciante, which was probably someone’s name. Even if the Latin origin isn’t correct, it does fit the history of Chianti, as its location made it the scene of bloody battles between Florence and Siena for centuries.
While the territory has been cultivated vines since Etruscan times, the first mention of the wine Chianti is found in an accounting document from 1398. At that time, the wine was sold by the Arte dei Vinattieri, the Florentin guild of wine merchants founded in 1266, as well as by noble families and landowners. Producers who are renowned today, such as Barone Ricasoli, Frescobaldi and Marchese Antinori, were trading the wine from its first days. Chianti wine acquired such prestige that in 1716 Cosimo III, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, defined the boundaries of the production area—which still correspond to the current area—in order to protect the name and defend the wine from increasing attempts at counterfeiting. At that stage, Chianti did not have a fixed identity, and could change significantly depending on the blend of red and white grapes used. The ‘formula’ for quality Chianti was set in 1840 by Bettino Ricasoli, an important Italian politician and agriculture entrepreneur. From then on, the Chianti wine had to be made with 70% Sangiovese grapes, 20% Canaiolo (a local red grape), and 10% Malvasia, a white grape that Ricasoli suggested avoiding if the wine had to be aged.
Modern evolution
At the beginning of the 20th century, production of Chianti became so great that the wine began to appear from outside the 1716 boundaries. In 1924, the producers of Chianti Classico decided to protect their historic area and founded their Consortium. They chose the Black Rooster as their symbol, the emblem of the old Chianti Militar League. The region was formally recognized in Italian law in 1966, when the DOC system came into being. Chianti Classico became a DOCG in the 1980s.
A major landmark in the evolution of the region came with the production of Tignanello by Piero Antinori, produced at the beginning of the 1970s and not originally recognised as a Chianti Classico. It was a revolutionary wine, having 20% Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend with Sangiovese, and undergoing malolactic fermentation in French oak, but using no white grapes. This made it for the Sangiovese to be aged in barriques. “The modern winemaking can be traced back to Giacomo Tachis, Antinori’s oenologist at the time, who had studied with the famous professor Emile Peynaud,” says winemaker and consultant Stefano di Blasi. “Tachis had French taste; in a wine he looked for elegance, structure, softness, and balance.” Antinori, who was aware of what was happening internationally in wine, realized that Chianti Classico’s production rules were holding him back from making a wine capable of competing with the world’s greatest red. “If he wanted to make a wine like the French ones, had to break those rules.” Tignanello’s success signaled the start of a new era for the denomination, and for Tuscany as well. The age of the Super Tuscan had begun. Other changes lay ahead: producers have been able to make 100% Sangiovese wines since 1996, and the use of white grapes in the blend was formally abandoned in 2006.
Today Chianti Classic wine must be 80% to 100% Sangiovese, with a maximum of 20% of other red grapes, which can be the local Canaiolo or Colorino, or Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. Another important milestone for the wine came in 2013, with the introduction of a new category: the Gran Selezione. This sits atop the Chianti Classico hierarchy, above the Annata, or standard wines, and the Riserva, wines that must be aged for 24 months before release. As of 2018, 68% of production was classified as Chianti Classico Annata; 32% as Chianti Classico Riserva; and 5% as Chianti Classico Gran Selezione. Gran Selezione must be made from a single estate and have been aged for 30 months; the classification has been controversial, as a single estate (rather than a single vineyard) may produce in the hundreds of thousands of bottles.
“Sangiovese is a quite unique grape,” says di Blasi. He says that for many years, particularly in the 1990s, producers tried to overcome its pale colour and high acidity by adding Cabernet and Merlot, to achieve and international style. The wheel has turned, and now producers recognize that Sangiovese cannot build its identity through having other grapes added to it. “In reality, Sangiovese has great virtues,” adds Di Blasi. “It’s drinkable, and easy to pair with a whole meal. So in recent years the trend is to rediscovering its many strengths.” The Chianti Classico Gran Selezione aims to showcase Sangiovese at its best, through the use of the best grapes of an estate. “Although not having a big structure, the wine has a wonderful complexity in the mouth and a wide spectrum of aromas,” says Di Blasi, adding that it’s a “magic that can be reproduced nowhere else.”
More people around the world are becoming enchanted by the magic, as an increase in the bulk wine price demonstrates: in 2018, the average price hit between €280 to €310 per litre. The Consorzio did not give figures for previous years, but they said the 2018 price indicates a major increase in value for the denomination. In 2018, the Chianti Classico Riserva and Chianti Classico Gran Seleziones together accounted for 37% of production and 52% of turnover.
The challenges
As consumers become more discerning, producers are looking to create ever more unique wines, beginning with viticulture. In the past few years, more than a hundred Sangiovese clones have been selected in Chianti Classico, of which around ten are of the highest quality.
“We’re observing two main trends in our producers,” says Giovanni Manetti, owner of Fontodi winery and president of the Consortium. “The first one is to give more and more importance to Sangiovese, increasing its presence in the wines and reducing the contribution of international grape varieties.” The other, he says, is respect for nature, with 40% of Chianti Classico vineyards managed according to organic methods. “Even those who are not yet organic certified are committed to reducing pesticides, and to produce in a sustainable way. These two trends work to give more territorial character to the wines we produce. Only this way we can overcome the international challenges.” Manetti says that in an era of globalization, it’s imperative to strengthen the characteristics of the wine. “Being able to transfer the territory into the bottle means creating a unique product that cannot be copied elsewhere.”
Another challenge Manetti cares about is clarifying the differences within the territory. “The area of Chianti Classico is very heterogeneous,” he says. “Each village produces wines with different characteristics. We’d like to divide the territory into smaller and more homogeneous areas, in order to mention the name of the village on the label. This is one of the issues that I am dealing with during my presidency, and I hope to reach a conclusion within the next few months. It is an ambitious project but most producers agree with it. I’m confident.”
