Tuscany, Italy
Thoroughly delicious, satisfying, and complete, this is affordable, complex, and ready-to-drink Chianti at a fantastic price. Castello di Farnetella is the great Fèlsina estate’s property in Chianti’s Colli Senesi zone, named for the hills around Siena immediately to the south of Chianti Classico. Employing the same care that goes into Fèlsina’s reference-setting Chianti Classicos, Farnetella’s 2018 normale casts a gorgeous crimson-ruby color alongside a complex bouquet of spicy cherries, vine smoke, leather, and mint. Lush and satisfying on the palate, the wine spotlights its dominant Sangiovese component with delicious suggestions of licorice, pipe tobacco, and mushrooms. A dollop of Merlot adds hints of plums, black cherries, and cedar. Pair now and over the coming four years with grilled steaks, eggplant parmigiana, pastas with rich meat sauces, hearty bean stews, or grilled summer squashes.
Vinous: 89 points
An August 2021 newsletter selection
Organically Farmed
