Chianti Classico Riserva, Querciabella 2021
James Suckling 96 (2025); Jancis Robinson 17.5-18/20 (2025); Wine Enthusiast 94; Decanter 93; Vinous 92+ (2025); VertdeVin 90
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Why this wine
Querciabella has farmed organically since 1988, long before it was fashionable, and blends three very different Chianti Classico sites -- Greve, Lamole at 700 metres and Radda -- into one Riserva. The result is pure Sangiovese with unusual aromatic lift and tension rather than weight. It is among the most consistently reviewed Riservas in the appellation.
At a glance
- Grape
- Sangiovese
- Region
- Tuscany, Italy
- Alcohol
- 14.00%
- Body
- Medium
- Acidity
- High
- Tannins
- Medium
- Sweetness
- Dry
- Drink
- Long (10-20 yrs)
- Pairs with
- Red Meat, Poultry & Pork, Pasta, Cheese
How it tastes
Forest herbs, anise, red cherry liqueur and a touch of juniper, all lifted by a vivid aromatic profile. Medium-bodied, with fine ripe tannins, striking tension and a note of blood orange on the finish. Sangiovese 100%.
The producer
Querciabella was founded in 1974 by Giuseppe Castiglioni to make world-class wine in Chianti Classico, and the 1981 release of Camartina, one of the first Super Tuscans, set its direction; the estate now runs to 95 hectares across Chianti Classico and a coastal property in Maremma, led by Giuseppe's daughter Mita with her children Andrea and Selene. Fruit comes from Ruffoli di Greve in Chianti, where sandstone from flaking galestro runs denser in clay at 350 to 400 metres and looser at 550, from Lamole at 700 metres on sandy soil with clay and schist, and from Radda at 450 metres where galestro slate gives darker fruit and persistent tannins; the vines are trained to cordon spur and Guyot, yields held to around 30 hectolitres per hectare, and the vineyards have been farmed organically since 1988 with cover crops, green manuring and plant-based compost. Around sixty micro-vinifications kept the lots separate, fermenting mostly in temperature-controlled stainless steel after a 48-hour cold soak, with some parcels in small open-top oak vats, then up to 30 days on the skins with light pump-overs, lees ageing through malolactic conversion, and 16 to 18 months in 225-litre French oak barrels, 500-litre tonneaux and 2,500 to 3,000-litre casks, with no more than 15% new oak.
Food and drinking
Serve at 16-18°C. Good with roast veal, duck with cherries, tagliatelle with mushrooms and mature pecorino. Drinking well now and worth keeping ten to twenty years; an hour in a decanter helps a young bottle. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans.