Description
San Giusto A Rentannano are up there with Italy’s top growers – they are all about purity of sangiovese fruit, elegance (almost feminine for super Tuscan), beautiful aromatics, and superb freshness. They were certified organic in 2008 vintage.
Set in the far south of the Chianti Classico zone, San Giusto a Rentennano started out as a medieval Cistercian monastery and currently owns about 40 hectares of vineyards – a small landholding compared to some of big Tuscan names and a feature that means they produce small quantities of wine.
Accolades galore from the wine scribes like Parker, Tanzer, Wine Spectator etc… A couple of quotes …
“I can’t think of too many growers who would show the humility to say “I could have done better” when talking about one of his highly acclaimed wines from a few years ago. It is precisely that quiet drive to continue to improve which makes Luca Martini di Cigala and San Giusto a Rentennano one of Italy’s top producers.” — The Wine Advocate, June 2008
“San Giusto a Rentennano is one of Italy’s leading estates. Brothers Luca and Francesco Martini di Cigala are quiet and unassuming. They prefer to let the wines speak for themselves, which they do with great eloquence…From top to bottom, these remain some of the most reasonably priced wines in the world considering the pure quality of what goes into the bottle.” Antonio Galloni
Terrific fruit selection/depth of fruit … powerful strident wine but needs time. 2016 was an exceptional season producing ripe intensely flavoured fruit with gorgeous acidity and balance. Oak is not overdone (a lot of Riservas can be over oaked). Le Baroncole is made from 97% Sangiovese and 3% Canaiolo grapes. The initial stages of its production are the same as Chianti Classico but it is then aged in barriques for between 16 to 20 months, bottled unfiltered and held for a further six months prior to release. There are dark cherries, floral notes, spice, licorice and menthol and the tannins build impressively on the finish. Le Baroncole blends power, richness and freshness with outstanding balance, gaining complexity with time in the bottle. Don’t miss these 2016s
96 points James Suckling
“Lots of blackberry and blueberry aromas with freshly cut flowers. Full body. Firm and lightly chewy tannins with a mineral and hot-stone undertone to the brightness and energy. Fantastic, single-vineyard Chianti Classico. Needs a year or two to soften.”(7/2019)
96 points Monica Larner Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“The 2016 Chianti Classico Riserva Le Baròncole is a beautiful wine that delivers a very convincing performance as soon as you venture your happy nose into the glass. The wine is inky dark in appearance, yet brilliant hues of dark ruby and garnet shine bright from within. There is a moment of austerity on the bouquet, with dark aromas of slate and blackberry that slowly unwind and relax to producer softer aromas of red cherry and candied plum. This wine’s natural range and distance shows more latitude than you may expect. This Riserva is a real beauty, and this vintage is something truly special.”(9/2019)
95 points Antonio Galloni Vinous
“The 2016 Chianti Classico Riserva Le Baròncole is a super-elegant, perfumed wine. Classy and polished, with exceptional balance, the 2016 has so much to offer. All the best elements of the house style come together in a deep, layered Chianti Classico that oozes with class. Super-ripe dark cherry, plum, lavender, spice and menthol build into the finely knit, delineated finish. The 2016 spent 22 months in a combination of casks and smaller format French oak, mostly tonneaux. In 2016, Baròncole is especially fine. Don’t miss it!” (8/2019)
VERY LIMITED
