Chianti
It was historically associated with a squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called a fiasco ("flask"; pl.
In the late 19th century, Baron Bettino Ricasoli (later Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy) helped establish Sangiovese as the blend's dominant grape variety, creating the blueprint for today's Chianti wines.
Subsequent expansions in 1967 would eventually result in the Chianti zone covering a very large area all over central Tuscany.
[6] It was not until the work of the Italian statesman Bettino Ricasoli that the modern Chianti recipe as a Sangiovese-based wine would take shape.
[8] Prior to Ricasoli, Canaiolo was emerging as the dominant variety in the Chianti blend with Sangiovese and Malvasia Bianca Lunga playing supporting roles.
Though he is often credited with creating and disseminating a specific formula (typically reported as 70% Sangiovese, 20% Canaiolo, 10% Malvasia Bianca Lunga), a review of his correspondence of the time does not corroborate this.
[1] In addition, his efforts were quickly corrupted by other local winemakers (for example, replacing Malvasia with Trebbiano Toscano, or relying too heavily on the latter), leading to further misunderstanding of the "Ricasoli formula".
[1] In 1967, the Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) regulation set by the Italian government was based on a loose interpretation of Ricasoli's "recipe", calling for a Sangiovese-based blend with 10–30% Malvasia and Trebbiano.
However, during the same period, a group of ambitious producers began working outside the boundaries of DOC regulations to make what they believed would be a higher-quality wine.
The late 20th century saw a flurry of creativity and innovation in the Chianti zones as producers experimented with new grape varieties and introduced modern wine-making techniques such as the use of new oak barrels.
The success of the Super Tuscans encouraged government officials to reconsider the DOC regulations in order to bring some of these wines back into the fold labelled as Chianti.
[11] Within the collective Chianti region more than 8 million cases of wines classified as DOC-level or above are produced each year.
The sub-zones are (clockwise from the north): the Colli Fiorentini which is located south of the city of Florence; Chianti Rufina in the northeastern part of the zone located around the commune of Rufina; Classico in the centre of Chianti, across the provinces of Florence and Siena; Colli Aretini in the Arezzo province to the east; Colli Senesi south of Chianti Classico in the Siena hills, which is the largest of the sub-zones and includes the Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano areas; Colline Pisane, the westernmost sub-zone in the province of Pisa; Montespertoli located within the Colli Fiorentini around the commune of Montespertoli; Montalbano in the north-west part of the zone which includes the Carmignano DOCG.
[6] The original area dictated by the edict of Cosimo III de' Medici would eventually be considered the heart of the modern "Chianti Classico" subregion.
[6] The Chianti Classico subregion covers an area of approximate 260 km2 (100 square miles) between the city of Florence to the north and Siena to the south.
[9] The soil and geography of this subregion can be quite varied, with altitudes ranging from 250 to 610 m (820 to 2,000 feet), and rolling hills producing differing macroclimates.
There are two main soil types in the area: a weathered sandstone known as alberese and a bluish-gray chalky marlstone known as galestro.
As with Bordeaux, the different zones of Chianti Classico have unique characteristics that can be exemplified and perceived in some wines from those areas.
[12] Gran Selezione is made exclusively from a winery's own grapes grown according to stricter regulations compared to regular Chianti Classico.
[12] Gran Selezione is granted to a Chianti Classico after it passes a suitability test conducted by authorised laboratories, and after it is approved by a special tasting committee.
Many foreign "flying winemakers" have had a hand in this development, bringing global viticulture and wine-making techniques to the Colli Fiorentini.
Located in the hills between the Chianti Classico area and Arno valley, the wines of the Colli Fiorentini vary widely depending on producer, but tend to have a simple structure with strong character and fruit notes.
A similar situation exists in the Colli Senesi which includes the well known DOCG region of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.
[9][16] The aging for basic Chianti DOCG is much less stringent with most varieties allowed to be released to the market on 1 March following the vintage year.
[11] Chianti Superiore is an Italian DOCG wine produced in the provinces of Arezzo, Florence, Pisa, Pistoia, Prato and Siena, in Tuscany.
