Bucciarelli Chianti Classico Riserva 2017

Antico Podere Casanova farms this organic, naturally made Chianti Classico Riserva on the clay and galestro soils of central Tuscany, an estate with a documented line back to Michelangelo Buonarroti's family. Sangiovese is the sole grape, a variety defined here by high acidity and firm tannin that the limestone-rich galestro schist sharpens further. The continental climate, with warm days and cool nights through the long growing season, holds the natural acidity that gives the wine its lift. After fermentation the wine spends 24 months in oak barrels, the Riserva minimum, where slow oxygen exchange through the staves softens the tannin and adds spice and a fine grain to the structure. The colour is deep ruby moving to garnet. The nose carries sour cherry, plum, dried herbs, leather and tobacco, with earth underneath. The palate is medium to full bodied, the acidity bright and the tannin savoury and dry, closing long on red fruit and oak spice. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees and decant an hour ahead. It is built for the table, particularly roasted and braised meats.