Fattoria di Felsina Berardenga Chianti Classico 2018

Description

“Just when I thought I was familiar with the wines of Felsina, the estate comes through with one of the very best sets of new releases I have ever tasted. From top to bottom, these are marvelous wines that deserve serious attention.”  Antonio Galloni, The Wine Advocate

Fattoria di Felsina in the hills northeast of Siena is on the southern tip of the Chianti Classico region.  Founded in 1966 by Domenico Poggiali, Fèlsina was the Etruscan name for this viticultural terroir nearly 3000 years ago. The estate at the southern border of Castelnuovo Berardenga remains one of Tuscany’s finest terrains. Today, Beppe Poggiali, Giuseppe Mazzocolin and superstar winemaker Franco Bernabei form an awesome team that has overseen 25 years of extensive research and clonal selection of sangiovese to achieve an incredible combination of complexity, structure, power and finesse. They are traditional producers, (organic practices in their vineyards) who solely grow sangiovese and always avoided the temptation to grow cabernet and merlot make “new age” wines from their Chianti vineyards. They have championed the sangiovese grape (native to Toscana) and are renowned for elegant and yet intensely flavoured chiantis (deep and black fruited, smoky tones from the soils and deft touch of new oak).  Fèlsina has been awarded Tre Bicchieri every year since the first publication of Gambero Rosso’s Vini d’Italia in 1988, and in 2009 they were named Winery of the Year.

This traditional organic producer located just outside of Siena has championed the sangiovese grape (3 decades of extensive research and clonal selection) to achieve an incredible combination of complexity, structure, power and finesse.

92 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media “The 2018 Chianti Classico Berardenga is endowed with so much class. In 2018, the Classico is a bit more restrained than it can be. That mid-weight sense of structure, though, gives the wine quite a bit of early appeal. Even so, I would cellar the 2018 for a few years, as all the elements haven’t fully come together just yet. Dark cherry, game, smoke, licorice and earthy notes are a reminder we are in Castelnuovo Berardenga, even if the 2018 has less weight and overt power than Fèlsina fans are used to seeing.”

91 points, Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate “The Fèlsina 2018 Chianti Classico Berardenga is a toned and delicate expression of 100% Sangiovese from a vintage that produced beautifully subtle and understated wines. It shows good momentum driven by dark fruit, blackberry and summer cherry. The intensity of these aromas is downplayed and rendered less pronounced, adding elegance and fragility. Pretty background notes of spice and balsam herb add an extra layer of complexity. An ample 280,000 bottles were produced.”

RRP $58   Our Price $51.99