Home
: 2016 Vecchie Terre di Montefili Chianti Classico

2016 Vecchie Terre di Montefili Chianti Classico

SKU #1433769 92 points Vinous

Outer quote mark The 2016 Chianti Classico is gracious, perfumed and wonderfully lifted, with tons of floral and savory character. Medium in body and lithe, the Chianti Classico is full of personality. Sweet red cherry, tobacco, cedar, licorice and mint add shades of nuance to this striking Chianti Classico. Silky tannins round things out in style. The 2016 opens beautifully with time in the glass, showing remarkable complexity and pedigree at this level. (AG) Inner quote mark (8/2019)

91 points James Suckling

Outer quote mark A nuanced, poised Chianti Classico suggesting violets, bracken and roasted herbs. Medium-bodied and fruity, but with firmness and beguiling structure to the fine tannins. Some tart cherries on the finish. Drink now. Inner quote mark (10/2019)

K&L Notes

This wine is the result of a partnership founded in love for all things Italian. When New York businessman Frank Bynum befriended Nicola Marzovilla, the proprietor of I Trulli Enoteca in New York, the two men joked about escaping to Italy to make wine with their families. The joke soon became a serious plan. Frank involved his California friend Tom Peck Jr., and soon the three men put plan to action and acquired the ancient estate of Vecchie Terre di Montefili in the heart of Chianti Classico. Today the winery produces some of the best Chianti you will find, with a classic expression accented by a modern twist. Winemaker Serena Gusmeri spends much of her time traversing the vineyards, and believes her project is first and foremost to understand each season, allowing the vintage to truly express itself in the glass. Her wines are elegant and bold, and the Chianti Classico that we have from her today is a perfect marriage of styles. Ripe black marasca cherries jump from the glass, accented by a touch of sweet baking spice and a latent note of sandalwood. The full-bodied palate has a pleasant round weight with good acidity and tannin that shape this lustrous wine into the perfect food partner. It’s rich and structured enough to stand up to a steak dinner, but will also work well alongside other hearty dishes.

Share |

2016 Vecchie Terre di Montefili Chianti Classico

Price: $29.99

Quantity:

Wine Club

$24.99

VN: 92

JS: 91

Real Time Inventory by location:

The item you have chosen is not in stock in our retail stores or within our main warehouse.

Product turnaround time varies by location of inventory and your chosen method of shipping/pickup. For a detailed explanation click here.

Related Items

Product Reviews:

By: John Downing | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 3/24/2020 | Send Email

This benchmark Chianti captures the best of 2016 with its combination of complex, layered fruit and substantial acidity. While it's already a tremendous wine when opened and matched with food, it's certain to evolve in the bottle and become even more substantial with cellaring. One of the best Chiantis on the market for sure.

By: Lilia McIntosh | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 2/18/2020 | Send Email

Elegant and bright Chianti with lots of lift and freshness, full of crunchy red cherry, herbs, spice and touch of leather notes. Very pure and unadulterated expression of Sangiovese fruit, perfectly balanced by vibrant acidity. Lingering red fruit on the palate with hint of tobacco makes for a perfect finish. Truly lovely wine.

By: Alex Schroeder | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 2/13/2020 | Send Email

Savory scorched earth underlies beautiful dark cherries, plums and just a hint of orange peel on the nose. The fruit is deep and intense on the palate, with equally intense acidity, making this an intense, but balanced, wine. This would hold up to Osso Bucco, but I’d love to have it with a tomato based pasta sauce.

By: Thomas Smith | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 2/13/2020 | Send Email

Aromatics are earthy and leathery with hints of tobacco leave above dark cherry. Delightfully bright on the palate with plenty of red fruits shining through. This is a killer food wine with plenty of crispy acid and a tannin profile that builds and builds, only to relax and soften through the finish. It’s modern for Chianti Classico, but just modern enough.

By: Mike Parres | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 2/11/2020 | Send Email

This is simply beautiful. The opulent, forward fruit that is typical of the year is present, but a firm sense of structure keeps things from going over the top. If that sounds appealing you’ll love this wine. Dark red fruit, flowers, minerals and spices come together beautifully in this Chainti. Buy a couple, it will keep.

By: Greg St. Clair | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 2/11/2020 | Send Email

The nose of this wine is ethereal, the wine is full of floral character, not fruit, it’s crushed lilac and violet bulbs, hints of lavender and then segues into a savory array of soy, earth and raw meat. Not your normal entry aromatics for a Chianti Classico but I just wish the rest would taste like this. On the palate the wine shows an effortless weight and richness pierced by a linear acidity that makes the wine seem to go on forever. Length, aromatics, balance with a perfect mid-palate weight makes this wine one of the best Chianti Classico I have had in years.

Additional Information:

Varietal:

Sangiovese

- The most widely planted grape in Italy is Sangiovese, a high-acid grape with moderate to high tannins, apparent earthiness and subtle fruit. It is thought to have originated in Tuscany and its name, which translates to "blood of Jove," leads historians to believe it may date all the way back to the Etruscan period, though historical mentions only go as far back as the early 1700s. Though planted all over modern Italy, the most significant wines made from Sangiovese still come from Tuscany: Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino. Sangiovese must make up 75% of a blend from the Chianti DOCG t be labeled as such, traditionally allowing for Canaiolo, Trebbiano and Malvasia for the remainder, though more recently small proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot have been allowed. In Brunello di Montalcino the wine must be made entirely of Sangiovese. Prugnolo is Montepulciano's name for Sangiovese, and it is used there for the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wines. In the DOC of Carmignano Sangiovese can be blended with 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. There are also Super Tuscans, IGT wines that blend Sangiovese with large proportions of Cabernet or Merlot. Elsewhere in Italy it is a workhorse grape, though it does find some success (though not the longevity) in the Montefalco and Torgiano wines of Umbria as well as the foundation of Rosso Piceno and a significant element of Rosso Conero from the Marches. Like Nebbiolo, Sangiovese has struggled to find footing outside of Italy, though in recent years California wineries have been having better fortune with grape plantings in the Sierra Foothills/El Dorado County, as well as Sonoma County and the Central Coast.

Country:

Italy

- Once named Enotria for its abundant vineyards, Italy (thanks to the ancient Greeks and Romans) has had an enormous impact on the wine world. From the shores of Italy, the Romans brought grapes and their winemaking techniques to North Africa, Spain and Portugal, Germany, France, the Danube Valley, the Middle East and even England. Modern Italy, which didn't actually exist as a country until the 1870s, once produced mainly simple, everyday wine. It wasn't until the 1970s that Italy began the change toward quality. The 1980s showed incredible efforts and a lot of experimentation. The 1990s marked the real jump in consistent quality, including excellence in many Region that had been indistinct for ages. The entire Italian peninsula is seeing a winemaking revolution and is now one of the most exciting wine Region in the world.

Sub-Region:

Tuscany

Specific Appellation:

Chianti

- Chianti is the most famous wine name in Italy is not the name of a grape but actually a region. Chianti lies in the 35 miles of hills between Florence and Siena, a complex geological region as well as geographically. The extraordinary geography makes grape growing a very challenging feat with multiple exposures and soil types on the same estate. The region comprises 9 different communes not dissimilar to Bordeaux wherein each commune has a particular characteristic that shows in the wine. The wine is made predominantly Sangiovese, the grape must comprise at least 80% of the blend. Chianti Classico is the "classic" region, though many other nearby regions now use the name "Chianti" to make similar wines. The "Gallo Nero" or Black Rooster on many of the Chianti Classico bottles is a private consortium of producers who try and control the direction of production and quality amongst their members.