2006 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione
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Tasting notes
Deep garnet with a bricky rim. Extremely meaty and savoury on the nose with notes of coffee and umami. Still very oaky on the palate, grainy but smooth texture. A lot of oak sweetness on the long finish. Powerful and still a long way to go. A bit of heat at the very end. I think the Cepparello is much better value, and prefer the Chianti Classico 2014 for drinking pleasure, at the moment at least. (JH)
Critic scores
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Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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The 2006 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione is a controversial wine and for good reason. Proprietor Paolo De Marchi was initially opposed to the idea of introducing the Gran Selezione category above the Chianti Classico Riserva. But more than a year ago, the Institute of Masters of Wine held a special dinner in Florence and producers were invited to pour only Gran Selezione wines. Paolo had an amazing barrel of Sangiovese put aside for a commemorative wine to celebrate his 30th anniversary as a winemaker. He hoped to dedicate that wine as a special limited release. Because he also wanted to pour something of his at the Masters of Wine dinner, he declassified the wine and re-registered it as a Gran Selezione. This also explains why it is from an older vintage. Most of his peers inaugurated this new category with the 2010 vintage. Only 1,800 bottles were made (of which 500 are put aside for the family's personal use) and the blend consists of Sangiovese with 12% Cabernet Franc and 8% Syrah. "I love Chianti Classico and I love super Tuscans," says Paolo De Marchi. "This wine is a crossover of the two." The wine shows gorgeous ripeness with brooding dark fruit, depth and extreme balance. This is a wine that makes a statement upfront both in terms of the quality of the aromas and its overall integrity and persistency.
Isole e Olena's 2006 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione, a wine that was originally produced for home consumption, turned out to be the drawing board for the Gran Selezione. Cherry jam, earthiness, spices, mocha, sweet herbs and French oak all meld together in the glass. The 2006 is marked by a slightly oxidative note in its aromatics it has always shown - the result of having spent three and a half years in oak. Otherwise, the 2006 is exceptional.
About the producer
Situated north of Castellina, on the western side of Chianti Classico, Isole e Olena was created by the De Marchi family in the 1950s and has since become one of the region’s leading names. It is renowned for its top bottling Cepparello, a pure Sangiovese, as well as its brilliant Chardonnay.