Castell'in Villa 2020 Chianti Classico

"A nearly opaque ruby tending garnet towards the rim, the 2020 Chianti Classico from the arch-traditional estate of Castell’in Villa is reticent in the glass. The aromatic profile is intriguingly complex, requiring a degree of concentration to parse. Herbal and mineral aromas of graphite, cedar, aged Yunnan tea, and fermented tobacco emerge above more earthen notes of wet rock, spices and bay, and dried orange peel. Only very gradually do elements of both fresh and dried small cherries appear, trimmed in further mineral nuances that add a slight ferruginous quality. Transfixing. The palate is utterly silken on entry, underpinned by a fine line of acidity that broadens to wave, enjoined at its crest by chalky phenolics and ironstone minerality. This quickly refines itself and tapers off to a long, nuanced finish that is at once both brilliantly precise and elusively ethereal. A complex polyphony of flavours: fresh red cherry, dried cranberry and goji berry, salted watermelon, dried blood orange peel; then, deeper pitched, some plum and Nicaraguan Claro cigar wrapper, further iron-rich mineral nuances, and cured meat; then making up the bass, dark cherry, spices such as cardamom and cassia, and earthen nuances to the taste that are difficult to describe but include a mix of black and fermented teas, and fresh, dark herbal tones. A superb vinous achievement. A wine requiring great thought. Outstanding."