Riecine Chianti Classico since 1971

Riecine, here we are in Gaiole in Chianti, one of the highest wineries in the Chianti Classico area. A nearby monastery originally owned Riecine until the 20th century. The estate is located near excavations of an ancient Etruscan settlement.

On these high austere hills, you lose the temporal dimension, and when you taste Riecine’s Chianti Classico, you feel the tradition flow in your veins. The sensation is challenging to explain. Seasonality, too, has its own: the freezing wind and bare vineyards.

But as soon as you enter the winery, everything lights up with colour and warmth: a unique welcome and authentic kindness. You feel at home.

The colours enrich the cheerfully painted cellar. Talking, twirling, dancing berries. The barrels, the cement eggs, are part of a carefree, almost animated picture.

To then arrive at an incredible vertical of the old vintages. From the Chianti Classico and Chianti Classico Riserva vintages to a memorable 1985 “La Gioia”.

Two factors mainly distinguish the company: the height of the vineyards above sea level and the age of the vineyards. I take it for granted that the harvest is done manually. Here we take it for granted.

The fact that the height of the vineyards varies from 450 to 600 meters above sea level influences the maturation of the wines. As a result, they ripen later than in the lower areas and guarantee greater freshness in wines, even if it involves more difficulties in processing.

While the age of the vines here varies from 25 years up to 45, most wines are made from 40-45-year-old vineyards. Generally, I love old vines. Elegance, balance, complexity and concentration are characteristics of most wines made from healthy old vines.

And then “La Gioia del ’85”. Surprising longevity. Made from Sangiovese grapes, sorry, grown (as the Riecine team says), like the rest of the wines. Just “TreSette” wine is made from Merlot (I miss the reason for the name) and grown using certified organic practices.

We were lucky also to have the opportunity to taste one of the last bottles of Passito Sebastiano 2001, made from Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes – an explosion of aromas and flavours with outstanding complexity. Unfortunately, the old vineyard has “abandoned” us, and this was one of the last drops of this divine nectar.