James Suckling (95)

Complex aromas of sweet berries, tobacco and mushrooms with some floral undertones. Full-bodied with very tight, polished tannins and cedar, mahogany and dark fruit on the finish. Lots of transparent fruit at the end. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.

Vinous (91)

The 2019 Chianti Classico Filetta di Lamole is fruity, open-knit and delicious, all of which make it a fine choice for drinking now and over the next handful of years. The mix of forward fruit and freshness from this high altitude site works so well. Bright red/purplish fruit, rose petal, mint and spice linger. This is such a classy wine.

Vinous (91)

The 2019 Chianti Classico Filetta di Lamole is fruity, open-knit and delicious, all of which make it a fine choice for drinking now and over the next handful of years. The mix of forward fruit and freshness from this high altitude site works so well. Bright red/purplish fruit, rose petal, mint and spice linger. This is such a classy wine.

Decanter (96)

Fontodi’s brand spanking new Terrazze San Leolino Gran Selezione is a stunner. San Leolino was recognised locally as a cru site 200 years ago. The recently renewed terraces sit at 450 metres in Panzano but - unlike Fontodi’s Vigna del Sorbo, which is characterised by Galestro - the soil here is calcareous Alberese. Though recently bottled, this is forthright in its earthy, stony, mineral-like aromas. Elegant yet profound, the palate demonstrates decisive rose, red cherry and long-chained, enveloping tannins, finishing with a tangy salinity. It is still very buttoned up but has so much promise.

Wine Advocate (94)

The Fontodi 2020 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Terrazze San Leonlino (a certified organic wine) is a new addition to this exciting portfolio, now in its second vintage. With fruit from the upper part of the Conca d'Oro of Panzano, this wine shows a more robust and powerful personality with a strong 15% alcohol content. It ages in barrique and botte for 24 months. The bouquet is rich with cherry liqueur, blackberry kirsch and dried plum. There is more fruit weight here and you taste the ripeness in the grape skins. The wine has an almost carbonic quality that reminds me of cherry cola, and it ends on a sweet note with soft tannins. Only 5,000 bottles were made.

Vinous (94)

Black stone fruits, smoke, tobacco, incense and sweet spices jump from the glass in the 2011 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna del Sorbo. The 2011 is going to need a few years for the baby fat to melt away. Today the flavors are ripe, dark and resonant, while the tannins are quite silky, but the best is yet to come. Even with all of its richness, the 2011 clocks in with acidity above 6%, which is virtually unheard of for a wine with this much dry extract, but, then again, we are talking about Sangiovese.

Vinous (95+)

A powerful, structured wine, the 2014 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna del Sorbo won't be ready to drink for a number of years, much less be at its best. In recent years, the Sorbo has been much more forward, but the 2014 is decidedly austere and ungiving. Graphite, smoke, black cherry, plum and licorice notes infuse the dark, mysterious finish.

Vinous (98+)

The 2015 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna del Sorbo is flat-out stunning. Rich, ample and seductive, with tremendous intensity, the 2015 will go down as one of the truly epic wines of the year. All the elements come together in a deep, sensual Chianti Classico loaded with class and personality. I would give the 2015 at least a few years in the cellar to shed some baby fat, but it is very clearly a tremendous wine in the making, and even more impressive than it was last year. Wow!

Vinous (98+)

The 2015 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna del Sorbo is flat-out stunning. Rich, ample and seductive, with tremendous intensity, the 2015 will go down as one of the truly epic wines of the year. All the elements come together in a deep, sensual Chianti Classico loaded with class and personality. I would give the 2015 at least a few years in the cellar to shed some baby fat, but it is very clearly a tremendous wine in the making, and even more impressive than it was last year. Wow!

Wine Advocate (98)

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.

Wine Advocate (98)

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.

Vinous (96+)

The 2017 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna del Sorbo is a dense, packed wine. It is also surprisingly, almost shockingly backward. That is probably a good thing for its long-term aging prospects. Readers hoping to get an early glimpse into the 2017 before it shuts down may have a hard time doing that, as today acids and tannin dominate. I expect the 2017 will be stellar in another 4-5 years and drink well to age 25-30 if not longer. Proprietor Giovanni Manetti gave the 2017 18 months in barrique followed by 6 months in cask.

Vinous (96+)

The 2017 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna del Sorbo is a dense, packed wine. It is also surprisingly, almost shockingly backward. That is probably a good thing for its long-term aging prospects. Readers hoping to get an early glimpse into the 2017 before it shuts down may have a hard time doing that, as today acids and tannin dominate. I expect the 2017 will be stellar in another 4-5 years and drink well to age 25-30 if not longer. Proprietor Giovanni Manetti gave the 2017 18 months in barrique followed by 6 months in cask.

Vinous (98)

The 2018 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna del Sorbo is quite possibly the most elegant, refined version of this wine I have ever tasted. It does not offer the immediacy or impact of either the 2015 or 2016, but, instead, impresses with its elegance, persistence and total class. Bright floral and spice notes add perfume to a core of red-toned fruit. The 2018 represents another move towards greater finesse at Fontodi. It spent a year in French oak barrel and a second year in cask.

Vinous (98)

The 2018 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna del Sorbo is quite possibly the most elegant, refined version of this wine I have ever tasted. It does not offer the immediacy or impact of either the 2015 or 2016, but, instead, impresses with its elegance, persistence and total class. Bright floral and spice notes add perfume to a core of red-toned fruit. The 2018 represents another move towards greater finesse at Fontodi. It spent a year in French oak barrel and a second year in cask.

Decanter (97)

At an elevation of 400 metres, Vigna del Sorbo boasts Chianti Classico’s classic Galestro soil. The warm southwest-facing vineyard typically yields a powerful, intense wine in need of ageing. The 2019 demonstrates all the wild, penetrating characteristics of this site but it comes into harmony quickly, revealing its balance and precision. Wood-driven top notes of smoke and vanilla meld into pressed violets, rosemary and liquorice. Luscious red cherry and dark plum flesh are wrapped in long, layered chalky tannins. Across the palate there's an energetic beam of unwavering acidity, giving the wine a linear feel. The finish reverberates with fennel and crushed stone.

Wine Advocate (96)

Showing enormous precision and direction, the 2020 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna del Sorbo (with 25,000 bottles released) is a generous expression of Sangiovese that boasts singular intensity. This organic wine offers black fruit, grilled rosemary, pressed rose and crushed limestone. All of these aromas enjoy special, forward-moving intensity that dovetails into the ample fruit generosity that this sun-filled vintage will be remembered for.

Vinous (94)

The final bottle was the 2015 Ipsus from Caggio. This maiden release comes from 6.5 hectares of Sangiovese owned by the Mazzei family, matured 50% new tonneaux and 50% in stainless steel, plus eight months in cement vat. This was the first time I had tasted Ipsus, and I was impressed. Sure, it is primal on the nose and needs another year or two to subsume the oak, but it offers gorgeous scents of ebullient red fruit tinged with crushed violets and a hint of peppermint. The palate has more density than a lot of Chianti Classico and is quite insistent in terms of grip, offering pure blood-orange-infused, luxuriant red fruit toward the grippy finish. It improved with aeration and after a couple of hours was more open and floral. Superb.

Decanter (98)

2016 was a later harvest, with picking interspersed with rain showers. 18 micro-vinifications took place in 25% new tonneaux and 75% stainless steel tanks, using wild yeast for the first time (the 2015 was inoculated). It was also the first year of using large barrels as the team sought to reduce overt oakiness in the wine, and so the 2016 was matured for 24 months in new tonneaux and one large 15hl barrel, followed by five months in cement before bottling. It has a darker profile with more black cherry character compared to 2015, grippier, more powerful and silky in the mouth. It has great freshness, showing plenty of balsamic influence and raspberry acidity, finishing with flourishes of wood, herbs, spice and earthiness. 3,600 bottles produced.

Decanter (97)

The 2018 vintage appears to be a combination of 2015 and 2016, showing the ripeness of 2015 - red cherries and plums - with the freshness of 2016. The tannins are tight and still evolving, while the acidity is crisp. The red fruit is underpinned with oak notes. Hold for a couple of years before opening.

Decanter (97)

The 2018 vintage appears to be a combination of 2015 and 2016, showing the ripeness of 2015 - red cherries and plums - with the freshness of 2016. The tannins are tight and still evolving, while the acidity is crisp. The red fruit is underpinned with oak notes. Hold for a couple of years before opening.

Jancis Robinson (17.5)

Mid crimson. Immediately more complex on the nose with fruit and spice and hint of cigar box. Really tangy on the palate, vibrant and mouth-filling at the same time. Chewy tannins need time.

Jancis Robinson (17.5)

Barberino Tavernelle. 82% Sangiovese, 15% Canaiolo, 3% Syrah. Lustrous mid ruby. A concentrated cherry nose loaded with dark spice. Succulent, tangy cherry fruit with a mint oak note. Building up in concentration on the finish but without losing its freshness or elegance. A wine that never disappoints, regardless of vintage.

Jancis Robinson (17.5)

Barberino Tavernelle. 82% Sangiovese, 15% Canaiolo, 3% Syrah. Lustrous mid ruby. A concentrated cherry nose loaded with dark spice. Succulent, tangy cherry fruit with a mint oak note. Building up in concentration on the finish but without losing its freshness or elegance. A wine that never disappoints, regardless of vintage.

Wine Enthusiast (94)

Made with 83% Sangiovese, 15% Canaiolo and 2% Syrah, this lovely, delicious red races out of the gate with enticing scents of perfumed berries, blue flowers, forest floor and baking spice. Smooth and savory, the juicy palate features ripe Morello cherry, crushed raspberry, white pepper and star anise alongside polished tannins. It's already drinking beautifully but will also offer several years of sheer pleasure. Drink through 2025.

Jancis Robinson (17.5)

Just mid crimson. Finely fragrant, sweet raspberry nose. Beautiful precision on the palate with crushed-raspberry fruit and polished, fine tannins.

Indulge in the elegant and refined Jurij Fiore & Figlia Nonloso Lamole 2018 from one of the most biodynamically focused estates, nestled in the heart of the pristine Lamole in Greve, Tuscany. Revered producer Jurij Fiore, in collaboration with his daughter, meticulously crafts an expression of distinct Tuscan Sangiovese grapes, known for their thoughtful agricultural practices and immeasurable respect for the land. Permeated with local terroir, this 2018 vintage emanates earthy notes, overlaid with plush cherry and endeared with undertones of violet and spice.

From maturation in seasoned oak to hand-harvesting, every step prioritises authenticity and finesse, sculpting an embodiment of Tuscan perfection. Stunning now, the depth of character will ensure it matures gracefully over the next decade. Savour the sophisticated dimensions of the Jurij Fiore & Figlia Nonloso Lamole 2018, a testament to the singular artistry in every bottle from this splendid Tuscan estate.

Grown deep in the heart of Tuscany, the sublime Jurij Fiore & Figlia Nonloso Lamole 2019 exemplifies Italian viticulture mastery. This alluring Chianti, carefully crafted by the beloved Fiore family, is an elegy to the breathtaking Lamole terroir, where the vineyard stands sentinel over rolling verdant hillsides.

Its creation involves a meticulous, hands-off approach, favouring non-interventionist wine-making principles, where the indigenous Sangiovese grapes can express their character uninhibited. Immatured in traditional Tuscan casks, the wine offers unique depth, complex aromas, and an indelible Chianti freshness. An ensemble of silken tannins and balanced acidity accumulates to a harmonious crescendo on the palate, mirroring the harmonic symphony nature orchestrates in Lamole.

The Jurij Fiore & Figlia Nonloso Lamole 2019 exemplifies the Fiore family's commitment to capturing and bottling the charm of its remarkable origin. A wine of this calibre stands testament to their unwavering passion and the grandeur of the Lamole hills.

Drenched in Tuscan tradition, Jurij Fiore & Figlia Porcacciamiseria Lamole 2017 is a compelling masterpiece of sun-kissed elegance. This exquisite red wine hails from the hilltops of Lamole, a historic region known for its remarkable terroir and viticultural expertise. The wine is meticulously crafted by the father-daughter tandem of Jurij Fiore and his progeny, a testament to the enduring legacy of Tuscan winemaking. Infused with the refined balance of Sangiovese and Ciliegiolo grapes, the Porcacciamiseria Lamole 2017 layers sumptuous notes of ripe red fruits with subtle undertones of spice and earth.

Basking in the sunlit slopes, the grapes attain unrivalled concentration and complexity, shaped by the region's unique microclimate and diverse soil composition. The wine is then aged meticulously in large oak barrels, further enhancing its profound character. A sterling exponent of its lineage, the Jurij Fiore & Figlia Porcacciamiseria Lamole 2017's allure lies not just in its robust flavour profile, but in its ability to capture the soulful essence of its Tuscan provenance.