Mission Codename Damn.
There is a lot of Chianti that’s for everyday enjoyment. This one is NOT that and that’s why it’s a WIA winner. It’s up there with the best of the best. It’s jaw-droppingly good. If you have not yet woken up to this wine, or did and can’t get enough of it like us this may be your last chance.
Sniff, sip, swirl, swish, and sp… wait, what? An “unspittable” wine? Every drop gets soaked up by the palate, and as much as we are working here and consuming, honestly, is the last thing we have in mind. It’s physically a near impossibility to spit this ethereal mouthful of finesse and intensity, all in one over a seamless cloud delivered to the heart of your taste buds on a silver spoon. While this wears the highest score EVER adorned on a wine from Chianti by the Wine Spectator, this merely statistical fact does not even begin to do this wine justice. Damn.
A cavernous, dark shade of plummy purple turns garnet towards the radiant rim. Gloriously sweet on the intoxicating, head-spinning nose, complex notes of strawberry jam, cherries, menthol, and spice. Opulent, beautifully textured and concentrated with every single sip, this wine must be tasted to be believed. Redcurrants, tobacco leaf, and fig play with nuances of orange rind and licorice all linger effortlessly on the seemingly endless finish. A truly symphonic wine that will play well with an entire orchestra of lavish food.
This is pure pleasure in liquid form, dear Operatives, it’s red hot lava of sensual submission. Do yourselves a favor, and make sure you experience this miraculous, transformative beverage. Multiple bottles, or even cases, if you can afford so, would be the wisest purchase of the year, given this is the lowest price you can find this rare, triumphant collectible anywhere.
Here’s what the wine press has to say:
96 Points – Wine Spectator (highest rating ever given to a Chianti) - “Highly Recommended! Poggerino, the Radda estate owned by brother and sister Piero and Benedetta Lanza, excelled with its Chianti Classico Bugialla Riserva 2015, full of pure cherry, tobacco, rosemary, iron and tar flavors. “The vintage is for me certainly one of the best along with 2010 and 1990,” says Piero Lanza. “I think the reason the 2015s came out so well is that they are from Radda. It is one of the coolest zones in Chianti Classico, and therefore the vines did not suffer from the long, hot summer we had until the end of July. Another reason, important to me, is that I was able to harvest grapes from vines that are relatively old—between 15 and 25 years—and well-balanced, the result of the work of the previous years.” A mix of pure cherry and cigar humidor aromas lead off, with the cherry theme continuing, supported by rosemary, iron and tar flavors. Big, burly tannins line the finish and should carry this wine for another few decades. Best from 2023 through 2040. 200 cases imported.”
17.5 Points – Jancis Robinson - “Dense crimson. Firm youthful spicy cherry nose. Then particularly polished tannins. Intense yet poised and with impressive depth and persistence. Lots of everything and finely tuned. This would be a good introduction to a doubter of Chianti Classico’s quality. There is beauty here.”
Tasting Profile
Tasting Profile
Look | A cavernous, dark shade of plummy purple turns garnet towards the radiant rim. |
---|---|
Smell | Gloriously sweet, complex notes of strawberry jam, cherries, menthol, and spice. |
Taste | Opulent, beautifully textured and concentrated, must be tasted to be believed. |
Finish | Redcurrants, tobacco leaf, and fig play with nuances of orange rind and licorice. |
Pairing | A truly symphonic wine that will play well with an entire orchestra of lavish food. |
What the Winery Says
2015 'Bugialla' Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG
- Winemaker
- Piero Lanza
- Varietals
- 100% Sangiovese
- Vintage
- 2015
- Appellation
- Chianti Classico DOCG, Toscana
- Abv
- 15%
- Vineyard Age
- Planted in 1973
- Vineyard Density
- 3,300/ha
- Training system
- Bilateral cordon
- Harvest
- Manual, beginning the last week of September
- Aging
- 18 months in Slavonian oak casks, 12 months in the bottle