2010 Mazzei Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Castello Fonterutoli 750 ml

The Gran Selezione designation became official in 2014, and although the label of this Mazzei bottling does not include those words, Mazzei supplied documentation proving this wine complies with the new rules and the 2010 was granted 100% Gran Selezione status. The point of the new Gran Selezione DOCG threshold puts the wines from the best growers in the Chianti Classico region into a top-level classification they deserve. 

Having earned a place as one of Tuscany’s preeminent producers over six centuries — that’s 24 generations — of winemaking, the Mazzei family could have been perfectly content with the status quo. But, tired of being upstaged by Brunello and eager to showcase the unique terroirs of their region, the Mazzeis and other iconic Chianti Classico producers pushed for — and established — a new DOCG: Chianti Classico Gran Selezione. The resulting laws stipulate longer aging and higher ripeness requirements, as well as exclusive use of estate-grown grapes to distinguish only the top terroirs and wines. 

Gran Selezione exceeds Riserva standards by requiring all-estate fruit, 13% minimum alcohol, and 30 months of aging (compared to 12.5% and 24 months for Riserva). Wines that meet those markers must then pass a stringent tasting panel to join the mere 8 or 9% of Chianti Classicos that earn the designation. 
 
Blended from 50 plots on the Fonterutoli estate and aged for 30 months in small French oak barrels and in bottle, the Castello Fonterutoli is rich, structured, and bursting with the black cherry and herbaceous aromatics of prime Tuscan Sangiovese. Antonio Galloni’s Vinous describes the 92+-point wine as “rich, chewy and deep,” characterizing it as “a knockout Gran Selezione,” and “Fonterutoli’s most classic sangiovese wine.” Now, having spent half a decade lying dormant in the Mazzei cellars, this elegant and well-integrated Tuscan gem is ready for prime time.