2016 Renzo Masi Fattoria di Basciano Chianti Rufina Riserva Tuscany 750 ml

In our time, we can’t tell you how many under-the-radar regions we’ve watched go mainstream—and how many great-value appellations we’ve seen leave their bargain bona-fides behind.  

Fortunately, over the past few decades, one marquee region has seen skyrocketing quality and minimal price increases: Chianti. That means a great vintage can translate into a bonanza—and in Tuscany’s momentous 2016 season, few deals we’ve found can hold a candle to the 2016 Renzo Masi Fattoria di Basciano Chianti Rufina Riserva. 

A stunning red from the leading producer in Chianti Rufina—what Decanter calls “arguably the most famous of the Chianti subzones”—the wine earned 94 points from Italian critic Luca Maroni, and an impressive 92 from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. With a center of red fruit, dried flowers, pipe tobacco, and raw chocolate riding on silky but stout tannins polished by 30 months in oak, it’s rolling out the red carpet right now but also has the capacity to cellar beautifully.

Defined by bountiful sunshine; warm, steady temperatures; no heat spikes; and doses of rain at just the right times, 2016 redefined standards in Chianti. With its near-perfection conditions, the vintage brought out the best in all areas of the region.

This essential expression of Rufina terroir was crafted by the Masi family, which has been tending vines here since 1900. Born of biodynamic farming practices on their 74 acres of vineyards, there is something almost primeval and earthy about this deep ruby beauty, which offers characteristic Rufina acidity enveloped in a succulent ripeness. 

This is a prime example of why value still thrives in the Chianti region. Put some away now and enjoy over the next decade.