2015 Piemaggio Chianti Classico Riserva “Le Fioraie”

Now fast forward to a few weeks ago when we got a first look at the anticipated 2015 Piemaggio Chianti Classico “Le Fioraie” Riserva. Only in vintages that merit it does Piemaggio produce a Riserva, which spends an extra year in cask but is otherwise produced in the same fashion as their flagship wine and from the same basic blend of grape varieties: 90% Sangiovese with 10% Canaiolo, Ciliegiolo, and Colorino. The fermentation is spontaneous in stainless steel during a 3 ½ week maceration, then spends 3 years aging in a combination of concrete tanks and previously used wooden casks—mainly 25-hectoliter Slavonian oak, with some 500-liter French oak employed as well. Absolutely textbook in character, it combines earth, bright fruit, and pinpoint acidity, with notable yet unforced concentration with striking balance and remarkable drinkability. Notes of pipe tobacco emerge from its deep-red-fruited core, and a faint balsamic note counterbalancing the wine’s brazenly earth-driven personality. Supple fruit beautifully framed with refined tannins, this Riserva exudes a distinct character only found in the heart of the Classico zone – Castellina-in-Chianti.