Santo Stefano 2019 – Chianti Classico Gran Selezione

The wine has a ruby color of medium intensity. The nose offers gourmandise, complexity and fruity, ripe substance, slightly jammy in the background. It expresses notes of roasted bigarreau cherry, red cherry jam, fresh Morello cherry, crunchy strawberry, raspberry coulis, mountain ash, cranberry and crushed blueberry, associated with notes of sweet spices (licorice, roasted vanilla in the background, grated nutmeg, ground cumin), as well as subtle touches of tobacco, undergrowth (in the background), prunes, dry black tea, tapenade, bitter cocoa, fresh oregano, dried basil, rosehip and lily. The palate offers a juicy, silky attack, with textured, velvety tannins. It expresses notes of red cherry juice, cranberry jam, ripe Morello cherry, wild plum, mountain ash, crushed cassis, raspberry coulis and tart strawberry, combined with a gourmand touch of cocoa, dark chocolate with mint, as well as subtle, integrated spicy and roasting notes (licorice, ground cumin, white pepper, coffee, toasted almond in the background). There’s also a touch of black tapenade, infused black tea, balsamic, dried peppermint and a hint of tobacco in the background. The finish offers persistence, a certain roundness at the start and expresses the tightness of the tannins, rounded out by a salivating acidity on the finish.