Frescobaldi Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Tenuta Perano Rialzi 2021

96 Points, James Suckling – 94 Points, Vinous

This was a slight runner-up to that insane Castello di Ama CC Gran Selezione San Lorenzo we offered last year, which finished with 99 points from Suckling and landed in both James Suckling and Wine Spectator’s Top 10 Wines of the Year. This is slightly less money, nearly every bit as impressive as that monster, and it out-pointed and outshined almost all of its more expensive peers in the 2021 vintage including two from Marchesi Antinori and Felsina’s ‘Colonia’ Gran Selezione all at half the price.

The 2021 vintage is one of those exceptional vintages in Tuscany that Americans are only now starting to catch onto, now that it’s almost too late. Suckling called this baby “Super tense on the palate, with a chewy, tight-knit structure, zesty acidity and refined, velvety tannins. Tense yet polished finish.”