San Felice IL Grigio Gran Selezione 2014 (750ml)

 

Rated 92 Points by Wine Spectator

 

Spice and toast aromas are followed by flavors of cherry, plum, wild herb and tobacco in this firm, dry red.  Racy acidity keeps this focused, with a finish evoking tobacco and tea.  Best from 2020 through 2032.  3,300 cases made.

 

Rated 92 Points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

 

It's so encouraging to see a winery produce these results in what was a very challenging vintage.  The 2014 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Il Grigio offers ripe cherry aromas with subtle hints of cured leather and smoked bacon at the back.  This is a medium-weight wine with a fiber-rich and juicy finish.  The blend is 80% Sangiovese with other red grapes.  Each variety was fermented apart in stainless steel (with up to 22 days of maceration).  After malolactic fermentation, it was aged in various sizes of oak vessels for 24 months.  Some 40,000 bottles were made.

 

San Felice IL Grigio Chianti Classico

 

Gran Selezione DOCG 2014

 

Il Grigio Gran Selezione is the fruit of a painstaking selection of the finest Sangiovese grapes grown in the vineyards Chiesamonti, Colti and Pianaccio, which were selected for their consistent quality production.  A remaining 20% is represented by the extraordinary indigenous varieties recovered in San Felice’s Vitiarium: Abrusco, Pugnitello, Malvasia Nera, Ciliegiolo and Mazzese, all selected to add lustre to the already noble Sangiovese.  The result is an utterly unique blend, unmatchable anywhere in the Chianti Classico zone.

 

San Felice enters the exciting new world of Chianti Classico Gran Selezione on the right foot.  Its new wines from the top of the appellation's quality pyramid are very impressive and could mark a new chapter for this celebrated Tuscan estate.  I look forward to tasting future vintages of Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Il Grigio.

 

Il Grigio Gran Selezione comes only from our most naturally blessed plots. 

 

Made of 80% Sangiovese blended with ancient indigenous varieties such as Abrusco, Pugnitello, Malvasia Nera, Ciliegiolo and Mazzese, which contribute to the complexity of the wine while retaining the full elegance and expression of San Felice’s terroir.

 

“The estate is situated in the municipality of Castelnuovo Berardenga, near Siena, in other words, right in the heart of the Chianti Classico territory.  With over 140 hectares of specialized vineyard, about 17,000 olive trees, the majority of the experimental plantations, the Vitiarium, the cellar and the village with its prestigious hotel complex, San Felice is a rare, not to say unique, blend of production, science, tourism and culture”

 

“The San Felice estate covers an area of more than 650 hectares in the municipality of Castelnuovo Berardenga, at an altitude of about 400metres above sea level.  The perfect combination of soil and microclimate, together with the wide temperature range, create the ideal conditions for producing truly irrepeatable wines and oils.  To accentuate the distinctive characteristics of each vineyard, we divided the area into different zones in the 1990s.  We identified five macro-areas, and planted the grape varieties best-suited to the soil and geography of each.”

 

Gran Selezione Official Classification

 

The new Gran Selezione designation promises stricter quality standards.  At Agricola San Felice, the new bottling is the result of years of research

 

The Consorzio of Chianti Classico introduced its new designation, Gran Selezione, in 2013.  It represents the pinnacle of a quality pyramid whose base comprises the Chianti Classico annate and mid-tier riserva categories. 

 

The goal is to have stricter standards to drive quality and inspire consumer confidence in the wines of Chianti Classico.  The new category is projected to represent about 10 percent of the Chianti Classico production.

 

Currently, there is a lot of confusion about Chianti.  It can be made from a large area in central Tuscany and can sell for anywhere from $10 to $200 a bottle.

 

Chianti Classico Gran Selezione must be made from estate-grown grapes of a single vineyard (or selection of the estate's best parcels) and the aging requirements are longer than those of riserva, 30 months vs. 24 months, including three months in bottle.  Sangiovese must make up at least 80 percent of the blend, with other approved grape varieties allowed by the Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG).

 

The Gran Selezione wines are also subject to a panel tasting along with chemical and physical analyses by authorized labs.

 

This all sounds fine, in theory.  Now, the first Gran Selezione wines are about to be released.  According to Silvia Fiorentini of the Chianti Classico Consorzio, 47 wines have been approved to date, with a 10 percent fail rate of the overall submissions.

 

San Felice IL Grigio Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG

 

My first look at the new premium category was San Felice's Chianti Classico Il Grigio Gran Selezione.  Winemaker Leonardo Bellaccini came by Wine Spectator's New York office with San Felice president Mario Cuccia and general manager Davide Profeti with the estate's 2010 vintage.

 

Since Bellaccini joined San Felice in 1984, the estate embarked on viticultural research in conjunction with the University of Florence.  Much of that work has been genetic research of the indigenous grape varieties of Tuscany.  There are more than 5 acres in San Felice's Vitiarium, a "museum" of vines planted to 270 different grapes.

 

Bellaccini and his colleagues saw an opportunity to combine these two decades of research and work in San Felice's nearly 350 acres of vineyards with the new Gran Selezione designation.  "We wanted to show this was a project we had before and Gran Selezione gave us an opportunity to use it," he said.

 

In addition to using the best plots of Sangiovese (Chiesamonti, Colti and Pianaccio) and the oldest vines, what's interesting about San Felice's new wine is the other grapes in the blend.  Sangiovese, at 80 percent, meets the regulatory minimum, while the remaining 20 percent includes Cilegiolo and Malvasia Nera (for aromas and fruit), Abrusco (for color), Pugnitello (for structure) and Mazzese (for spice). These are all indigenous Tuscan grapes developed from the Vitiarium.

 

The San Felice Chianti Classico Il Grigio Gran Selezione is a very aromatic red, offering deep cherry, licorice and hints of leather and spice.  Its rich, sweet fruit is balanced by vibrant acidity, while the cherry, leather, tobacco and spice flavors persist on the long finish.

 

It saw 20 to 25 days of maceration on the skins, initially with pumping over, then punching down the cap for the last two weeks.  Half the wine was aged in 9,000 to 10,000 liter casks and the other half in 500 liter tonneaux and barriques.  About 10 to 15 percent of the barriques were new.  After two years in wood, it was blended and bottled, where it rested for six months.

 

San Felice also continues to make its Chianti Classico Il Grigio Riserva, which is 100 percent Sangiovese.  This may be confusing, with two Il Grigios on the market, so be sure to look for the Gran Selezione designation on the label.

 

Nonetheless, if San Felice's new entry into the Chianti Classico Gran Selezione designation is any indication, this could be an exciting new era for Tuscany's historic region.

 

During Vinitaly 2014, the annual Italian wine fair, plus subsequent visits to Tuscany, I have tasted about a half-dozen Gran Selezione wines, including Castello di Meleto, Mazzei Castello di Fonterutoli and Il Molino di Grace Il Margone.  Giovanni Manetti of Fontodi also told me what was formerly the estate's Vigna del Sorbo Riserva will become the Gran Selezione.

 

There appears to be good support from the producers.  Now it's the consumers' turn to buy into the new Gran Selezione concept.

 

 

Agricola San Felice

 

“The estate is situated in the municipality of Castelnuovo Berardenga, near Siena, in other words, right in the heart of the Chianti Classico territory.  With over 140 hectares of specialized vineyard, about 17,000 olive trees, the majority of the experimental plantations, the Vitiarium, the cellar and the village with its prestigious hotel complex, San Felice is a rare, not to say unique, blend of production, science, tourism and culture”

 

The Village

 

The village has ancient origins and grew up over the centuries around the church of San Felice in Pincis, which dates back to 714 A.D.  In the mid 1800s, the Grisaldi Del Taja family made major changes to the layout and architecture, which are still visible today.  The result of the thirty-year restoration programme is a small but resplendent gem.  A portion of the village has played host to a prestigious hotel complex since 1991, which is part of the Relais & Chateaux Association.  The accommodation is of the highest level, complete with wellness centre, swimming pool, sports facilities and a wide range of other comforts.  The Michelin Star Restaurant Il Poggio Rosso and the Osteria del Grigio  offer unforgettable dining experiences, revolving around the greatest dishes of Tuscan cuisine, accompanied by the best wines from our estate.

 

Terroir

 

“The San Felice estate covers an area of more than 650 hectares in the municipality of Castelnuovo Berardenga, at an altitude of about 400 metres above sea level.  The perfect combination of soil and microclimate, together with the wide temperature range, create the ideal conditions for producing truly irrepeatable wines and oils.  To accentuate the distinctive characteristics of each vineyard, we divided the area into different zones in the 1990s.  We identified five macro-areas, and planted the grape varieties best-suited to the soil and geography of each.”

 

The Cellars

 

Located in fully renovated 19th-Century buildings within the village, the cellars are one of the first modern examples of a vinification and fining plant.  All it takes is a brief visit to realise how past and present, and tradition and innovation can go hand-in-hand.  Here, the latest technologies cohabit with Slavonian oak barrels and French oak tonneaux and barriques.

 

 

Rated 92 Points by Wine Spectator

 

Spice and toast aromas are followed by flavors of cherry, plum, wild herb and tobacco in this firm, dry red.  Racy acidity keeps this focused, with a finish evoking tobacco and tea.  Best from 2020 through 2032.  3,300 cases made.