2018 Valiano Chianti Classico Tuscany 750 ml

From one of the great recent vintages in Tuscany, the 2018 Valiano Chianti Classico is TEXTBOOK Sangiovese.

It hails from Chianti’s most prestigious and central subzone, the famous village of Castelnuovo Berardenga, where grapes grown in coveted galestro and alberese soils allow Chianti legends like Felsina and San Felice to turn out fantastically elegant wines.

Fourth-generation winemaker Mario Piccini brought to this Sangiovese expression a persistence and purity that can only be found in the most authentic Chianti Classicos. That’s a result of ideal terroir and Piccini’s passion to sing the gospel of his homeland to the world.

Piccini is a localist winemaker with a globalist mindset. As a vintner whose family history in this region stretches back to the 1880s, he’s an active advocate for organic viticulture: At Valiano, all 185 acres of vineyards are farmed according to organic principles that don’t try to shortcut nature. And as the head of five wineries, he leverages efficiencies and capital to shave prices to industry-best values. 

For him, wine and food are almost inextricable, which is why Valiano bottles are such hot-ticket items in restaurants. Piccini can still remember a time growing up when a normal midday snack was dipping bread into a mixture of half water and half wine.

He also remembers vintages that remind him of 2018—top years defined by svelte elegance and precision, like 2004 or 2001. Cooler temperatures and higher levels of precipitation helped produce graceful wines that render each note with crystal clarity.

If you drink red wines at any pace, this one will satisfy now and give even more with a few years in the cellar.