Rocca delle Macie Tenuta Fizzano Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2019 - Tuscany, Italy

95/100 Raffaele Vecchione, Wine Critic
93/100 James Suckling
92/100 Wine Spectator
91/100 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate
91/100 Michaela Morris, Decanter
95/100 Raffaele Vecchione, Wine Critics (2018 vintage)
95/100 James Suckling (2018 vintage)
95/100 Daniele Cernilli, Guida Essenziale
93/100 Wine Spectator (2018 vintage)
92/100 Ernesto Gentili
91/100 Michaela Morris, Decanter (2018 vintage)
90/100 Falstaff (2018 vintage)

Gold - Mundus Vini
Bronze - Decanter World Wine Awards (2018 vintage)

3 Bicchieri - Gambero Rosso (2018 vintage)

Organic - currently undergoing certification

Raffaele Vecchione, Wine Critic "Full body, well-smoothed soft tannins and a warm and enveloping finish that everyone likes for its volume and power...Open and very vibrant in the sensory profile, it offers notes of currants, raspberries, ripe strawberries and wet flowers. "

James Suckling "Composed and traditional.....Sweet cranberries, plums and some savory cinnamon, seaweed and white pepper, extending to a medium-bodied palate that unleashes juicy and savory berry fruit with firm, polished tannins."

Wine Spectator "A fluid red, featuring a mix of plum, cherry, leather, iron and sanguine flavors. Tips to the dry side in the balance, remaining long and savory in the end. Sangiovese and Colorino."

Decanter "The nose is rather shy, hinting at flint and pepper; but the palate is more giving: plump red cherry is punctuated by pretty violets and sage, remaining juicy throughout. Tannins appear quite fine at first, then stick assertively to the finish."

Raffaele Vecchione, Wine Critic "Solid and centred showing energy and character in the fruity profile, rich with black plums, wild myrtle, cumin, white pepper and hot crumbled stone. In the background the slight riduction is well integrated and will go away with time but also protects the matrix from oxygen. Full bodied.perfectly polymerized fine grain tannins in the matrix and an authoritative finale, rich in gustatory beauty." (2018 vintage)

James Suckling "Fresh and vivid with black-cherry and violet aromas. Full-bodied with firm, lively tannins and a fresh, linear finish. Very fine and polished." (2018 vintage)

Wine Spectator "Savory and fruity combine in this dense red, whose wild rosemary, eucalyptus and woodsy notes meet cherry, plum and floral flavors. Firms up, so decant now or cellar a few more years." (2018 vintage)

Decanter "It leads with aromas of warm, dry earth, baked stone and hints of green herbs. Robust and packed with fruit, the palate demonstrates the region’s generosity. Plush, plump plum is accented by cinnamon, clove and sundried tomato, with flinty mineral notes underneath. The tannins are chalky and dry, but cushy acidity lends accessibility." (2018 vintage)

Falstaff "Dark shining ruby red. In the nose of fresh cherries, blood oranges, strawberry yoghurt, also delicately of sealing wax. Red berries on the palate with slightly vegetal fruit, juicy and finely structured, but widens in the rear area and dries out, narrow." (2018 vintage)

Rocca delle Macìe was established in 1973, when film producer Italo Zingarelli – of Ettore Scola’s “We All Loved Each Other So Much” fame, and also the wildly popular series of films featuring comedy duo Bud Spencer and Terence Hill (including “They Call Me Trinity” and “Trinity Is Still My Name”) – decided to realize his lifelong dream by acquiring the “Le Macìe” estate – extending across 93 hectares (230 acres) in all, of which only two were under vine – in order to create a winery in the heart of the Chianti Classico zone.

The estate now extends to more than 500 hectares (1250 acres) with, in total, more than 200 (500 acres) used as vineyards and 22 (54 acres) as olive groves, subdivided across the company’s six estates: Le Macìe, Sant’Alfonso, Fizzano e le Tavolelle in the Chianti Classico Area, in addition to the Campomaccione and Casa Maria estates in the Morellino di Scansano Area (Maremma).

The Chianti region in Italy's Tuscany wine growing region is split between Chianti and Chianti Classico with the highest quality being the Chianti Classico Gran Selezione. This relatively new premium level for the wines of Chianti Classico DOCG being the Gran Selezione (Great Selection) — and is officially part of the Chianti Classico portfolio since 2014. Gran Selezione is a classification above Riserva, made using grapes harvested only from the winery’s own vineyards, with upgraded requirements for alcohol, extract, and aging for at least 30 months.

Basically two separate DOCG designations apply to wines from the Chianti region: the Chianti Classico DOCG for the heartland of Chianti, and Chianti DOCG for all other Chianti regions. (In 1984, the Chianti region was promoted from DOC to DOCG - Italy’s highest classification - and in 1996, Chianti Classico - the historic heartland of the region - DOCG was created, which gave autonomy to that region. In the last 20 years, a consortium of Chianti Classico producers have researched new Sangiovese clones, replanted vineyards, updated cellar practices and generally made Chianti Classico DOCG a world-class appellation. Chianti Classico must contain a minimum of 80% Sangiovese. In the 2014 edition of its annual compendium of wine ratings, Gambero Rosso noted that Chianti Classico DOCG wines were noteworthy for their “significant return to a more defined style, true to tradition.” The typical Chianti Classico wine is a ruby-red, Sangiovese-based wine with aromas of violets and cherries and a hint of earthy spice.

The Chianti DOCG designation covers wines from six Chianti sub-zones (Colli Pisane, Colli Fiorentini, Colli Senesi, Colli Aretini, Montalbano and Rufina) as well as all other Chianti wines. The Chianti Classico DOCG is located in the very center of Tuscany, between Florence and Sienna.

Tuscany is Italy's third most planted region (behind Sicily and Apulia) but it is eighth in terms of output, reflecting both the poor soil of Tuscany and deliberate efforts to limit yields and increase the quality in the wine. After Piedmont and the Veneto, Tuscany produces the third-highest volume of DOC/DOCG wines. More than 80% of the regions' production is in red wine, with the Sangiovese grape being Tuscany's' most prominent grape. Trebbiano is the leading white variety of the region.

The history of viticulture in Tuscany dates back to the Etruscans in the 8th century BC. From the fall of the Roman Empire and throughout the Middle Ages, monasteries were the main purveyors of wines in the region. As the aristocratic and merchant classes emerged, they inherited the share-cropping system of agriculture known as mezzadria. Many Tuscan landowners would turn their half of the grape harvest into wine that would be sold to merchants in Florence. Following the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Tuscany returned to the rule of the Habsburgs. Chianti, Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Super Tuscan are Tuscany’s best known wines.

Sangiovese (or Nielluccio in Corsica), a dark-berried vine, is the most widely planted grape variety in Italy. Virtually synonymous with the red wines of Tuscany, and all the romanticism that goes with the territory, Sangiovese is the core constituent in some of the great names in Italian wine. Italy's love affair with Sangiovese – and indeed the world's – is generations old, though recent grapevine research suggests the variety is not as ancient as once thought.