Chianti Classico Gran Selezione
Explore the pinnacle of Chianti Classico’s winemaking with Gran Selezione: a top-tier expression showcasing the ultimate refinement, maturation, and complexity of the region's Sangiovese grapes.
Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Tasting Notes
Gran Selezione represents the zenith of Chianti Classico grape growing and winemaking. These are wines with substance and aging potential.
Requiring at least 80%* Sangiovese and a minimum of 30 months extended aging, you can expect a harmonious blend of ripe black cherry, dried fig, balsamic, spices, sundried tomato, and tobacco, with a rich texture. The meticulous aging process imparts increased levels of complexity, depth, and a well-rounded finish, with pronounced acidity and tannins.
*From 2027, a minimum of 90% Sangiovese will be required for Gran Selezione wines.
Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Food Pairing
This sophisticated and complex wine pairs excellently with hearty dishes like braised red meats, game, and aged cheeses, complementing their rich flavors and textures. You’ll need full flavored dishes to match up to this robust wine.
Gran Selezione must wait in barrels for the perfect moment, aged for a minimum of 30 months in barrel before bottling. Photo by: Fattoria di Valiano in Castelnuovo Berardenga
How to Find Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Wines
Identified by “Gran Selezione” on the label, these wines undergo rigorous quality checks and are sourced from the finest vineyards, reflecting the highest standard of Chianti Classico.
The Gran Selezione distinction indicates a longer aging period (minimum 30 months), often in oak, which enhances its structure, adds complexity, and helps soften the high levels of tannin.
Should you age them? Gran Selezione wines are crafted for longevity, evolving gracefully over several years, even decades, allowing the complex flavors and aromas to develop further in the bottle.
Winemaking Information:
- Minimum Aging: 30 months, with at least 3 months in bottle
- Minimum Alcohol: 13%
- Minimum Extract**: 26 g/L
- Grapes must be sourced solely from vineyards owned and operated by the winery
**Extract is all the stuff in the wine that isn’t water or alcohol, like tannins and flavor compounds. For reference, a light bodied red wine would have about 18g/L of extract.
UGAs: Additional Geographical Units (Unità Geografiche Aggiuntive)
Introduced in 2023, UGAs, short for Unità Geografiche Aggiuntive (Additional Geographical Units), are the Chianti Classico region's way of tracing wine back to its roots.
These 11 UGAs can only be featured on Gran Selezione wines, allowing consumers to understand more precisely where the grapes for their wines are coming from within the Chianti Classico area.
To learn more about each of these 11 UGAs, please visit our Region page.
Selected Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Wines
Selected Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Wineries
Ricasoli is the most representative wine producer in the Chianti Classico area. With its gentle hills, velvety valleys and thick woodlands of oaks and chestnuts, the 1,200 hectares of property include almost 240 hectares of vineyards and 26 of olive groves. This creates a continuous succession of colors and hues around the Brolio Castle, which is located within the town limits of Gaiole in Chianti. Since 1993, Baron Francesco Ricasoli has been guiding this central Tuscan company in innovative challenges. This has been done with the deepest respect for his renowned ancestors who have made this territory great, Bettino Ricasoli first and foremost. Francesco Ricasoli, current owner and President of the company, has generated new ideas and concepts to render the vineyards sustainable. The ongoing study of soil types and the clonal selection of the Brolio Sangiovese are among his greatest passions, and he has totally renovated the vineyards and completely mapped them. The new wines are therefore the expression of research carried out with the same scientific rigor of his illustrious ancestor but with a contemporary spirit, like a runner receiving the baton and carrying it forward with renewed energy.
