2019 Antinori Badia A Passignano Gran Selezione Chianti Classico, Tuscany

Marchesi Antinori's 2019 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Badia a Passignano embraces a ripe fruit profile with sweet cherry and baked plum. Fruit at the Badia a Passignano estate matures very nicely, Marchesi Antinori General Manager Renzo Cotarella tells me. He describes the 2019 season as having abundant rain in the spring and then showing heat that lasted for a good part of the summer. This estate has a total of 56 hectares of vines, but this bottle is born from a selection from 20 hectares. The resulting annual production is 100,000 bottles. The wine offers sweet tannins, lots of dark cherry, spicy sensations, rich fruit weight and hints of salinity on the close.

The big news from Marchesi Antinori is that the estate is embracing a collective push to give more identity to the villages, or comuni, that make up the appellation. Made with a blend of fruit from four villages, the Chianti Classico Riserva Villa Antinori will be parceled and made into four distinct single-vineyard (or single-comune) Chianti Classico Gran Selezione wines. I have not tasted them yet, but we should be seeing these new wines soon.

94 points Monica Larner robertparker.com