Carobbio Chianti Classico Riserva 2016
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Robert
Parker
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
This wine offers a ruby-red color, and aromas of mature red fruits, spices and chocolate. On the palate, it is dry, well-structured, and well-balanced, with rich tannins.
Pairs well with grilled meats, game, and aged cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Chianti Classico Riserva (made with 100% Sangiovese) reveals medium-rich concentration. The aromas are especially bright and lifted with bold cherry and dried raspberry. There is some mint or medicinal herb, in addition to mineral tones, that give momentum and drive to the bouquet.
It was the summer of 1985 when Carlo Novarese, near Tenuta Carobbio, in the heart of Chianti Classico, was certain that he had found a small corner of Paradise. A promised land of everlasting splendor, if the talent of the place is awakened. Thus began the rebirth of Carobbio. Carlo Novarese provides the foresight of an entrepreneur and the desire for excellence, which distinguish his history as an industrialist, for the benefit of the Estate.
Agricultural experts get to work: drastic interventions begin on the vineyards to support a high quality strategy for the grapes and wines. New plants are created according to the principles of the most advanced viticultural trends. The results repay the commitment: a selection of wines of unmatched quality, from Chianti Classico to Super Tuscans.
Among Italy's elite red grape varieties, Sangiovese has the perfect intersection of bright red fruit and savory earthiness and is responsible for the best red wines of Tuscany. While it is best known as the chief component of Chianti, it is also the main grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and reaches the height of its power and intensity in the complex, long-lived Brunello di Montalcino. Somm Secret—Sangiovese doubles under the alias, Nielluccio, on the French island of Corsica where it produces distinctly floral and refreshing reds and rosés.
One of the first wine regions anywhere to be officially recognized and delimited, Chianti Classico is today what was originally defined simply as Chianti. Already identified by the early 18th century as a superior zone, the official name of Chianti was proclaimed upon the area surrounding the townships of Castellina, Radda and Gaiole, just north of Siena, by Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany in an official decree in 1716.
However, by the 1930s the Italian government had appended this historic zone with additonal land in order to capitalize on the Chianti name. It wasn’t until 1996 that Chianti Classico became autonomous once again when the government granted a separate DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) to its borders. Ever since, Chianti Classico considers itself no longer a subzone of Chianti.
Many Classicos are today made of 100% Sangiovese but can include up to 20% of other approved varieties grown within the Classico borders. The best Classicos will have a bright acidity, supple tannins and be full-bodied with plenty of ripe fruit (plums, black cherry, blackberry). Also common among the best Classicos are expressive notes of cedar, dried herbs, fennel, balsamic or tobacco.