Rocca di Castagnoli, Stielle 2018 – Chianti Classico Gran Selezione

The wine has a ruby color of medium intensity. The nose is finely spicy and chocolatey and offers concentration, complexity, as well as a fine mineral framework (a touch of limestone). It expresses notes of gray pepper, liquorice, grated nutmeg, ground cumin, associated with powdery notes of bitter cocoa, chocolate cherry, a touch of cedar and fresh tobacco, as well as a refined fruity material, ripe and fresh. We find in particular notes of morello cherry, dried bigarreau cherry, crunchy strawberry, dried raspberry, fresh blackcurrant and mountain ash, as well as herbaceous (dried mint) and floral (rose, lily) notes. The palate offers intensity of flavors, a firm tannin structure (the tannins are astringent and slightly bitter on attack), as well as a crunchy and salivating acidity. It expresses the flavors of crushed blackcurrant, tangy strawberry, raspberry coulis, bigarreau cherry, mountain ash, as well as the bitterness of cranberries and bergamot (in the background), a fine spiciness (ground gray pepper, licorice, ground cumin) and herbaceous hint of dried mint, a sweet floral touch (peony, iris). The finish is persistent, dry at the beginning (dry chalky minerality and tight tannins), softened by a salivating acidity. A firm, structured wine, but fresh and juicy.