Monteraponi Chianti Classico 2018
95% Sangiovese, 5% Canaiolo. The wine called Chianti came originally from just three villages, Radda, Castellina and Gaiole, located between Florence and Siena. Monteraponi is in Radda and their vineyards are at high altitude, from 400-500 meters above sea level. These villages are were our favorite Chianti's come from. Michele Braganti's family has owned the property since the 1970's. The entire property extends over an area of two hundred hectares set in a natural amphitheater, which is exposed to the south and sheltered from the north winds. Of those two hundred hectares only twelve are planted to vineyards. Another eight hectares are olive trees and the remaining land is covered with towering, ancient oak and chestnut trees. If that sounds like paradise, it’s because it is. Yet, the wines were never publicly sold until Michele revived the winery in the early 2000's after falling in love with Radda. The vines for this Chianti Classico are organic and are planted in soils that are full of calcareous stones, rich in alberese and galestro. Everything is very natural here, with indigenous yeasts, fermentation in cement tanks, followed by long macerations, aged in large, neutral oak barrels and never fined or filtered. This is a vibrant, intensely flavorful, thoughtfully made, distinctive Chianti Classico that is one of the examples available. Forget your negative stereotypes on Chianti, this wine will change your mind.