In our Chianti Classico tasting panels this year, the Gran Selezione wines turned in their best performance to date, with 20 recommendations, 15 of those garnering exceptional scores. Most were from 2016 and 2015, two excellent vintages, which surely contributed to the successful showing. It’s a bit of good news for a category that was born six years ago amidst controversy and skepticism.
Even if you’re an ardent Italian wine lover, you may be asking, “What is Gran Selezione?” It’s a name the Chianti Classico Consorzio came up with for a new top tier that would sit above Riserva and annata in Chianti Classico’s quality pyramid. Gran Selezione was born out of some producers’ concerns that the rules for Riserva wines are too lax. The Consorzio also hoped that the new top-tier category would attract those making Toscana IGT wines back into the fold. Those “Super Tuscans” include some of the region’s most elite sangiovese-based wines.
How does Gran Selezione differ from Riserva? Not as much as some producers had hoped it would, and a shortcoming that created controversy from the start. Gran Selezione enforces slightly higher levels of alcohol and extract, and requires 30 months of aging to Riserva’s 24. Some producers believe that six months of additional aging was inadequate, while others believe than an emphasis on longer aging and higher concentration leads to wines that are over-oaked and unbalanced. (That was certainly true of some Gran Selezione wines submitted to our tasting panels in previous years.)
Other aspects of the Gran Selezione rules caused greater disagreement. Requirements for grape varieties are identical for all three categories of Chianti Classico—a minimum of 80 percent sangiovese with the remaining 20 percent coming from any red variety approved in the zone, which includes traditional Tuscan grapes as well as international varieties, such as cabernet sauvignon and merlot.
Perhaps the biggest bone of contention was over rules governing origin. Many producers, especially smaller ones, thought Gran Selezione wines should originate from a single vineyard. Some also advocated for tying the category to Chianti Classico’s subzones, but no such recognition exists yet, despite years of discussion.
In the end, the regulations require only that the grapes must come from a single estate, a definition that accommodates producers whose estates can encompass thousands of acres, but alienates those who see greater emphasis on territoriality as Chianti Classico’s future. Like a number of other producers, Laura Bianchi of Castello di Monsanto, who makes her Riserva Il Poggio exclusively with native varieties from one of Chianti Classico’s most historic single-vineyard sites, initially declined to participate in protest of what she saw as watered-down regulations.
Gran Selezione’s rocky rollout didn’t inspire much enthusiasm among US wine buyers. NYC’s Del Posto champions Chianti Classico wines on its extensive Italian list, but wine director Evan Clagnaz was initially put off by the new category. He now carries about half a dozen Gran Seleziones, but three times as many Riservas. “I don’t think consumers care [about the Gran Selezione category], because it was mishandled when it was released.” Clagnaz would prefer to see Chianti Classico focus on closer identification with subzones and elimination of international varieties. Carlin Karr, who runs the 1,200-bottle list at Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, Colorado, echoes Clagnaz’s objection to international varieties, preferring the pure, unoaked sangiovese flavors she finds in many Chianti Classico: “[Gran Selezione] was just a marketing debacle,” she says. “I don’t think that more expensive versions blended with international varieties are the best thing for Chianti Classico.”
This raises the question of what market need Gran Selezione does fill: In our tastings, we found plenty of bright, delicious wines within Chianti Classico’s other two categories, and only a handful of Gran Seleziones outshone the top Riservas. Consumers looking for powerful examples of pure sangiovese wines, and willing to pay premium prices, can find plenty in Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti Classico’s neighbor to the south. So where does this leave Gran Selezione?
The people behind Gran Selezione have heard the criticisms and, according to Consorzio president and Fontodi proprietor Giovanni Manetti, are working on changes to address them. Manetti recently outlined plans to propose higher minimums for sangiovese (up to 90 percent); to decrease or eliminate international varieties, and to create an official recognition of subzones. The proposals have convinced at least one skeptic; Bianchi of Castello di Monsanto recently released her 2014 Il Poggio as a Gran Selezione for the first time.
Whether Manetti can bring consensus to the 580-member Consorzio remains to be seen, but rules that tie the wines more closely to native grape varieties and specific sites, and that clearly communicate these differences to consumers, would be a step in the right direction.
For tasting notes on Gran Selezione wines and more, search our April recommendations
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is the Italian wine editor at Wine & Spirits magazine.
This story appears in the print issue of April 2020.
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