Chianti - Chianti Classico

On the 16th of February started a week of tastings in Firenze of the Chianti anteprima and a few days later the Chianti Classico and the other well known Tuscany wines of Montepulciano and Montalcino.

I was not present all week but I think I have a good overview of the quality wines of Tuscany in the last, not yet released wines.
Is 2012 a good year? As I saw, it can be a good year but not a great year.

The consorzio of Chianti Classico, with their new president Sergio Zingarelli, from the Rocca della Macie estate, is planning to update the image of the “superior” image to the “simpler” Chianti.

It is starting by presenting the new more beautiful and vibrant logo of the “Back Rooster” logo. 

Chianti versus Chianti Classico

A number of “foreign” journalists wood accept that Chianti Classico wines, who are produced in a much smaller area in Tuscany, are generally of better quality. For me it is only the price of the “terroir” and the stricter law for production, and I am not even talking about the using of wood, that allows them to ask a higher price.

In my eyes it is still the winemaker who is responsible for the quality of the wines.

I tasted a number of good quality Chianti wines, and of course there ware also a number of mediocre quality wines, but later I also tasted some Chianti Classico wines who are not deserving the Classico qualification. 

I don’t think the use of trebbiano or malvasia by some less important or “factory” produced wines is important to the majority of wine lovers.

This brings me to the question, why is it only the zone of production who deserve the classification of “Classico” and not the quality of the wines, like in some French wine regions?

The average consumer is not always aware of the difference between the two classifications because the line is so thin, but the consorzio should make more effort to let the consumer know about this and make the rules stricter.

Zingarelli also released the information about the idea of adding a third quality level at the top  like for instance “Gran Selezione”. This wines should be made by wine estates that make the wine from their own grapes and with a minimum aging of 30 months.

I only hope they will taste the quality of this wines every year so there will be no possibility to everyone to ask ridiculous prices for average wine like they did in the time with the “Table Wines” (Vino da Tavola).