Fontodi Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna del Sorbo 2016

This is always an entrancing Gran Selezione and the 2016 shows dried raspberries, boysenberries, vanilla and brambleberries. Full-bodied and tightly wound with eye-catching minerality. The acidity sharpens out the exuberant red fruit perfectly. Incredible length and drinkability. Is this better even than the great 2015? I think so. From organically grown grapes. Drink in 2023.

The 2016 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna del Sorbo is another benchmark wine from Tuscany that shows the incredible potential of this iconic vintage. This beautiful single-vineyard Sangiovese reveals a graceful side with dark fruit intensity, cherry, plum, fresh violets and tilled earth. Tar, tobacco and licorice appear as delicate background tones, giving more volume and texture to the wine's sensorial impact. Vigna del Sorbo shows its own precise identity that is fiercely faithful to Sangiovese, but that also pushes the boundaries to go beyond our highest expectations of the grape in terms of color, concentration, aromatic complexity and staying power. That's the Panzano magic in a nutshell.

Just as it was last year, the 2016 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna del Sorbo is magnificent. Dark, brooding and reticent, the 2016 is not ready to show all it's got. If anything, the 2016 is even more reticent than it was last year at this time. Vigna del Sorbo has a great track record for aging. I have no doubt the 2016 will blossom in bottle, but that is not going to happen anytime soon.