The harvest began early in the vineyards of the more than 600 Chianti Classico estates and it is generating great expectations in terms of quality due to positive climatic conditions. Chianti Classico 2006 seems to have reached an excellent level since the grapes arrived at the harvest phase rich in sugars, highly concentrated and with good polyphenolic maturation. In addition to particularly favorable climatic conditions, credit must undoubtedly be attributed to the informed management of the vineyards that the Chianti growers adopted long ago and that has taken solid form in maximum quality after a severe selection of the grapes.
The forecasts are favorable, therefore, even if it is difficult to issue a definitive judgment about the outcome of a process that, launched in the fields during the harvest phase, will receive verification only a year later or two, for the Riserva. ?Everyone makes comparisons and cites similarities based on the seasonal trends of preceding vintages,? said Marco Pallanti, president of the Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico, ?but it?s primarily a sort of propitious rite. Wine is an evolving creature during all phases of its life and there are truly many factors involved that give it its definitive physiognomy. However, discussion is good and the uncertainty of food-production forecasts adds to the fascination of a much-loved and familiar product like wine that always remains mysterious and fleeting.?
The 2006 vintage began in a context of economic revival for the Black Rooster estates. Sales rose in Italy and, above all, abroad by 10% in September in comparison with the preceding year.
It was also a harvest of awards
The harvest of Sangiovese for Chianti Classico was positive but so was the avalanche of Goblets, Stars and Clusters collected as usual in October. During the month, the judgments of the most important Italian wine guides are announced and it is a source of satisfaction for the producers, who can boast that, among all the wines honored, Tuscany is the region with the greatest number of laurels. For Gambero Rosso, Tuscany beats Piedmont 55 ?Three Goblets? to 52. Even more impressive were the results reported by L?Espresso: of the 131 wines awarded throughout Italy, 48 were Tuscan, putting the region far ahead of all the others.
Glancing through the results, we discover that in Gambero Rosso as well as in Duemilavini the Chianti Classico denomination is cited with great frequency. But the most satisfying news comes, once again, from L?Espresso, which proclaimed the Chianti territory as the most honored wine-producing area in Italy. The zone was named 20 times, which was only one wine fewer than all those awarded in Piedmont.
?This success testifies to the seriousness with which the Chianti Classico producers have been working for years,? Pallanti observed, ?but it is also a sign of ?an important renewal of Sangiovese in comparison with other varieties that in recent years were, perhaps, more up-to-date. But fashion, as Cocò Chanel said, is created to surpass fashion. Therefore, in the different renovated Chianti Classico terroirs, there has been complete confidence in Sangiovese. For the variety has found here an ideal habitat in which to express its uniqueness and that class that the general public and the critics have always sought.?
?A dream and an invitation,? Pallanti added. ?At such a favorable moment, we are thinking of how the image of our territory and our denomination could be changed if some of the champion-class Sangioveses currently playing on the team of ?SuperTuscan? were to rejoin our Chianti Classico team. I believe that then we could not be beaten by anyone.?