Castelli del Grevepesa Clemente VII Chianti Classico 2018 (Tuscany) - Wine Review

After enjoying the lovely 2019 vintage of this red wine that was included as part of the Castelli del Grevepesa Clemente VII Trio gift box last month, tonight's wine review is the 2018 vintage that arrived at the LCBO last weekend on its own as the Wine of the Month in the November 19 LCBO VINTAGES Release.

It is produced by Castelli del Grevepesa, a modern co-operative winery that was established in 1965 by visionary Sir Armando Nunzi and an initial group of 17 winegrowers. They came together because 1960s were difficult years in the Chianti winegrowing region and Sir Armando Nunzi wanted to not only safeguard the land and maintain the age-old traditions of Tuscan winegrowing with the long-established know-how that farmers still today pass on from one generation to the next, but also introduce innovative production methods and techniques such as implementing careful grape selection and rigorously controlling the vinification process. Today, Castelli del Grevepesa is the largest Chianti Classico family with over 120 associate winegrowers. As one of the first co-operatives in Italy, Castelli del Grevepesa strives with a passion and hard work to achieve a combination of fine quality and affordably priced wines.

This Chianti Classico is crafted with 100% Sangiovese that was hand-harvested with individual bunch selection. It was fermented at a controlled temperature of 28°C with 10 days of maceration with skins. Aging occurred for 12 months, with 85% of the wine aged in Slavonian oak barrels, while the remainder was aged in barriques; it was then blended and refined in bottle for a further three months.

Although it can be difficult to generalize vintages in Chianti Classico as the weather tends to be very localized and Sangiovese is particularly sensitive to the site where its grown, the 2018 growing season was characterized as more challenging than 2019. On the whole, Chianti Classico experienced an uneven and changeable weather pattern throughout the growing season with a lack of sustained dry, sunny weather. This changeable weather pattern created a lot of extra work to manage the health of the vineyards. However, when September arrived it brought hot, sunny days with good night-day temperature variation, enabling the grapes to fully ripen and the harvest to go ahead without any further problems. In terms of quality, it was another very good year for those who managed to harvest quite late. Let's see how this 2018 Chianti Classico is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

CASTELLI DEL GREVEPESA CLEMENTE VII CHIANTI CLASSICO 2018 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#421388) (XD) - $18.95
100% Sangiovese. The fragrant, medium-high intensity nose offers aromas of ripe red and black cherry, blackberry, earthy forest floor, and wood spice notes with touches of dried herbs and spices. On the medium to medium+ bodied palate it is very ripe with delicious red and dark cherry, savoury earth, woodspice replays, plus some red plum and dried herbal flavours. It's juicy and fresh with light, dusty, and slightly grippy tannins. Long and succulent on the savoury, earthy, and woody finish. Enjoy this recommended buy over the next 2-3 years. Score: 88+ pts

While the Clemente VII Trio gift box is available in limited quantities at the LCBO, it can also be ordered along with other wines from the Castelli del Grevepesa portfolio through the Agent - Profile Wine Group.