2020 Poggerino Chianti Classico DOCG Riserva Bugialla, Tuscany

The 2020 Chianti Classico Riserva Bugialla is a potent, brooding wine. Macerated dark cherry, licorice, leather, tobacco and smoke all flesh out over time. The 2020 saw a whopping 50 days on the skins, with malolactic fermentation in cement and then two years in 20-25hL Slavonian oak casks. There is a bit of new oak tannin from one of the casks that needs time to integrate. This young, potent Riserva has a bright future.

93+ points vinous.com

Intriguing and complex on the nose showing notes of black prunes, blackberries, incense, calendula, chamomile, guaranà and black tea leaves. Full bodied, soft tannins and a finale which is composed and well smoothed throughout the whole of the progression.

93 points winescritic.com

Poggerino Chianti Classico Riserva Bugialla is a soulful, single-vineyard Sangiovese that embodies the depth, energy and rustic beauty of Radda in Chianti. Farmed organically and made with minimal intervention, this Riserva is drawn entirely from the estate’s prized Bugialla vineyard, where high elevation, stony galestro soils and cool nights bring lifted aromatics, fine tannins and striking purity to the wine.

Piero Lanza, winemaker and owner, is deeply committed to expressing terroir through Sangiovese. Fermentation is spontaneous with native yeasts in concrete tanks, followed by ageing in large old tonneaux for 18 to 20 months. There’s no new oak, no makeup — just clarity, texture and Radda’s signature verticality.

The wine opens with wild cherry, blood orange, rose petals, cedar and crushed herbs. The palate is medium bodied and driven, with red currant, tobacco, dried flowers and a firm, mineral spine. Tannins are dusty but elegant, and the finish is long, savoury and full of quiet intensity. This is a wine for purists — structured, age worthy and unmistakably Radda.

Food pairing: perfect with Tuscan-style grilled steak, roast duck with herbs, pappardelle al cinghiale or aged pecorino. Also excellent with mushroom and truffle dishes or eggplant parmigiana.

Cellar potential: best from 2026 onward, with 15 to 20 years of cellaring potential. Over time it will develop notes of leather, dried rose and earthy spice.