Vinous (93)

The 2010 Chianti Classico boasts striking inner perfume, but is otherswise very shut down. Today, the 2010 seems to combine the finesse of the 2004 with some of the structure of the 2006. Clean veins of 2010 acidity support the brilliant, sensual finish. The 2010 is a gorgeous wine with a bright future, although readers will need to be patient.

Vinous (92)

Fontodi's 2014 Chianti Classico is one of the most finessed vintages of this wine in recent memory. The combination of the cool growing conditions and a move toward larger oak casks has resulted in a deep yet translucent wine of notable pedigree and class. There is plenty of the typical Panzano richness, but less of the overt weight that has characterized some recent vintages.

James Suckling (95)

The purity of fruit here really makes an impression on you. The nose shines with freshly picked blackcurrants, dark plums, freshly cut herbs, cinnamon, raspberry cheesecake, glazed cherries, orange and lemon rind. The palate is so well-crafted with a silky ball of tannins surrounded by layers of blue and red fruit and enveloping acidity. A long finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink now or hold.

Wine Enthusiast (95)

Fragrant and delicious, this opens with aromas of ripe black-skinned fruit, blue flower, leather, underbrush and a whiff of French oak. The full-bodied, enveloping palate delivers baked plum, Marasca cherry, licorice and a note of espresso framed in fine-grained enveloping tannins that give it a smooth texture and a weightless finesse.

James Suckling (95)

A perfumed nose of redcurrants, sour cherries, bay leaves and spices. Medium-bodied with chewy tannins. Dusty texture in the mouth with structure and a bright core of red fruit. Flavourful, ample and tannic finish with length. So serious. From organically grown grapes.

Wine Enthusiast (94)

Editors' Choice. Delicate aromas recalling scorched earth and truffle mingle with mocha and botanical herbs on this 100% Sangiovese. Elegant and enveloping, the supple palate features fleshy plum, orange zest and baking spice before an espresso finish. Soft tannins offer supple support. Drink through 2024.

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.

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 (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!

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 (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.

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.

Tim Atkin MW (96)

South Africa's Sweet Wine of the Year 2017.

Decanter (98)

An historical wine, Vin de Constance has been re-established in the last few years as one of the world’s finest sweet wines. Dried Muscat grapes are aged for three years before bottling, in French and Hungarian casks with a touch of acacia wood. Citrus, orange zest, rosewater and spice notes leap out of the glass. The palate has a laser-like focus with massive sweetness perfectly balanced by acidity and a mineral finish. As impressive as Château d’Yquem (and considerably better value).

Tim Atkin MW (98)

Increasingly celebrated as one of the great sweet wines of the world, not just the Cape, Vin de Constance is a delight to taste and review. Slightly drier than the 205 release at 165 grams of sugar, it has more in common with the Loire or Tokaji than it does with Sauternes in terms of freshness and structure.

Matthew Jukes (19.5++)

I am informed by the top man at Klein Constantia that the price will be the same as last year’s superb 2017 and all of the likely candidates in the UK are likely to hold stock. It will require a little effort on Google and you will see that a large number of wine merchants will list 2018 Vin de Constance and while the prices swing around like no other wine I know, at £60 or so, for a half litre, it certainly makes sense to me and when you consider the sheer quality of this vintage, it is a bargain for this celestial experience. Stock is likely to arrive in September 2021, but do feel free to register your interest with your preferred wine merchant now. Vintage reports suggest that the build-up to the 2018 harvest brought the highest summer rainfall of the last six years and, combined with some of the coldest night-time temperatures on record, the vines were granted a very long and very slow growing season. These conditions have imbued extreme delicacy of perfume and flavour and also staggering concentration and length in this wine. It also means that the 2018 vintage has otherworldly characteristics and I cannot remember a young vintage tasting so refined and demure. Light bunches and tiny Muscat de Frontignan berries underline just how unusual this vintage was and with a harvest that was a fortnight later than average and crops down by about 15% all of these facts make sense when you taste this ethereal wine. Aged for three years in a combination of 50% new French oak barrels, a small number of acacia barrels, as well as large format foudres, this is both a sensual and also sensitive wine. For a start, the colour is incredibly pale – think a young Sancerre! But the viscosity is amazing when you pour a glass because the liquid moves ever so slightly slower and more deliberately into the glass. The lights come on and the brain fires up immediately and it takes you by surprise just how quickly your olfactory system senses that you are in the presence of greatness. I was in a state of heightened anticipation, long before I raised the glass to my lips and the reward is exquisite. The perfume and palate combine in an astral haze of delight with orange blossom, fig, lemon verbena, wild honey and acacia notes caressing your senses. The texture is super-smooth, incredibly long and unnervingly gentle. It certainly possesses the longest finish I can remember on a Vin de Constance and I have, very fortunately, a tasted huge number of vintages of this wine. If you have never tasted this wine before, please start with this vintage – it will blow your mind. If you have and you are a fan, this is a critical purchase for your collection. I cannot wait to add this wine to my cellar later in the year.

Decanter (98)

Butterscotch, lemon patisserie and peach aromas. Pristine quality to the texture, lively and thrilling, this is a serious, opulent and powerful wine, more on the spiced, nuanced side with aspects of dried herbs, wood scents and bitter lemon and orange with a touch of honeyed lychee. It feels supremely complex and characterful. Sophisticated, layered and balanced with some minerality, a slight graphite edge all of which adds to the whole. It's still extremely youthful but there is real sculpting here, a sense of precision, style and freshness. Well crafted with an extremely long life ahead. A wonder, and one of the best from the estate!

Decanter (92)

In 1991 Luca and Valeria Orsini left their jobs in Milan to make wine in Tuscany. Their estate includes 10 hectares of southeast facing vineyards in Panzano and the wines have been certified organic from 2000. A standout 2016 annata, this is discreet with understated scents of cherry blossom, heather and rose. The palate is decidedly red fruited with currants and raspberry embraced by finely textured, powdery persistent tannins. It has beautiful energy and above all allows Sangiovese's true charms to shine through.

Jancis Robinson (17.5)

Panzano in Chianti. 100% Sangiovese grown at 450 m above sea level. Spontaneous fermentation in concrete tanks and aged in large oak casks. Lustrous, youthful crimson. Deep dark and minerally cherry nose with hints of raspberries. Compact tangy cherry and raspberry fruit that really deepens on the palate while keeping its nervy intensity. Coating tannins complement the whole.

Decanter (93)

Le Cinciole’s annata is a perennial overperformer and the 2019 shouldn’t be missed. Despite long ageing before release – first in cask, then concrete, and finally in bottle, it takes time to come out of its shell. Seductive truffle and forest floor slowly waft from the glass then give way to scented lavender, sage and dark red cherry. It flows effortlessly and energetically across the palate, with nervy, citrussy acidity providing the backbone. Chalky tannins are in the background making for an elegant frame.