New classification for top Chianti Classico

The Chianti Classico Consorzio have announced a new top band in the Chianti Classico DOCG appellation to be called Gran Selezione. Wine in this new top band above Riserva's must be produced solely from estate-grown grapes and can only be sold 30 months after harvest, with a minimum of three months’ bottle age.


President of Chianti Classico Consorzio Sergio Zingarelli said the new top band has been designed to give more emphasis to the top quality wines produced in the Chianti Classico denomination. Final approval is awaited by the Ministry of Agriculture but the Chianti Classico Cosorzio expects the new law to come into effect later this year. Unreleased wines from the 2010 vintage will then qualify as Gran Selezione.

However top Italian Buyer, David Berry Green of Berry Brothers and Rudd, is not convinced. He argues that whilst the quality of Chianti Classico wines has never been higher, this new classification is just bureaucratic tinkering and adds no real value. He says there's been no real effort to reclassify the boundaries of vineyards or study the unique terroir that are at the heart of the stylistic differences between Chianti Classico villages.