Monteraponi "Chianti Classico" Tuscany, Italy 2022

FROM GRAND CRU:

THE WINE: 95% Sangiovese, 5% Canaiolo.

Crystal-clear, pale red-colored. The nose offers intense notes of violet, green pepper and raspberry. The strong minerality on the palate blends wonderfully with the freshness given by the calcareous, stony and marly soil. Long-lasting, full-bodied and structured, but enjoyable and not overwhelming on the palate, owing to the silky and soft tannins that bring out the wine’s elegance.

THE PRODUCER: Monteraponi is more than just a winery, it’s an ancient medieval village just outside of the heart of Radda, built around three towers dating back to the 10th century. The entire property extends over an area of two hundred hectares set in a natural amphitheater, which is exposed to the south and sheltered from the north winds. Of those two hundred hectares only twelve are planted to vineyards. Another eight hectares are olive trees and the remaining land is covered with towering, ancient oak and chestnut trees. If that sounds like paradise, it’s because it is.

The land has been in current owner, Michele Braganti’s, family since the early 1970s but his father did commercialize his wines. Michele revived the winery in the early 2000s after falling in love with Radda’s ability to create world class Sangiovese.