2015 Vignamaggio Monna Lisa Gran Selezione Chianti Classico DOCG 750 ml

The reserved yet all-knowing expression of Lisa Gherardini, immortalized by Leonardo da Vinci in the Mona Lisa, stands in stark contrast to the larger-than-life personality of Dario Cecchini, the superstar chef and butcher behind world-famous Antica Macelleria Cecchini in Panzano. 

The deeply moving 94-point Vignamaggio Gran Selezione Monna Lisa takes after its namesake, the noblewoman whose family, the Gherardinis, owned the Vignamaggio estate during the 1400s. With power and grace this represents the highest expression of both this celebrated estate and all of Chianti Classico. Combined with Dario’s two-inch-thick, 50oz bistecca alla Fiorentina, it made for one of the greatest pairings of our lives. 

Lock in this artful Gran Selezione—the most ageworthy designation only the greatest Chiantis can reach—for 22% off and fire up the grill, and watch its leather- and smoke-kissed summer cherry notes elevate any cut of meat to the realm of the sublime. 

The Monna Lisa Gran Selezione is grown from Vignamaggio’s best parcels and made only in outstanding vintages. 2015 made the cut by a long shot, earning a 97-point vintage rating from Wine Spectator. 

The Sangiovese (85% of the blend), Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon that makes up this wine were grown in the very heart o Chianti Classico, from Vignamaggio’s three estate vineyards: Prato, Solatio, and Querceto. Surrounded by cypress trees, olive groves, and orchards, the vines are rooted in limestone-rich soils lending refined tannic structure and an earthy mineral edge to the wine. 

To qualify as a Gran Selezione, the Monna Lisa undergoes an extended aging regimen totaling 30 months in a combination of French oak barriques and large casks, yielding a finely polished wine of effortless power, spice, and elegance. 

The top offering from a Wine Access-favorite estate, we suggest stockpiling all you can of this legendary Chianti Classico Gran Selezione.

It was last January on a trip through Tuscany when we paired this masterpiece with chef Dario’s signature steak at his butcher shop in Panzano. Before our dinner we visited Vignamaggio, driving through the heart of Chianti Classico, up narrow, twisting roads lined with hardwood trees and crumbling stone walls to arrive at the 600-year-old property. 

The estate maintains the historic nature of its architecture and Italianate gardens with such integrity that director Kenneth Branagh chose to shoot his adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing on the villa grounds. But Vignamaggio’s engagement with the past is not merely stylistic—it drives the winemaking philosophy as well, with a desire to create wines that eloquently express the terroir of these vineyards and their ancient legacy. 

The result, as Wine Spectator wrote in its 94-point review, delivers a “dark, brooding style,” with “black cherry, blackberry and plum fruit shaded by iron and earth accents.”

The Monna Lisa’s powerful yet refined profile served as the perfect match to Dario’s legendary bistecca later that evening, its savory brilliance perfectly accenting the coal-fired tomahawk steak. 

Today its heroics are here to impress at a remarkable value price. Like the Mona Lisa itself, this modern classic is simply timeless.