The Barone Ricasoli 2017 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Castello di Brolio Roncicone is balanced and bright with plenty of fruit, spice, flower and potting soil. The wine is stitched together with balance and precision, making for a terrific and worthy partner to a Tuscan spezzatino, or beef stew. The tannins are especially fine and well integrated, considering the quick-ripening fruit in this hot vintage.- ML

On rolling southern slopes, Roncicone is characterised by sandy soil with marine fossils and rounded stones. Harvested on 6 September, it was the first of Ricasoli’s crus to be picked. Led by macerated cherry, blackberry, vanilla and toast, it is the ripest of the lot and comes across as the most influenced by oak. Intriguing mineral notes lurk underneath. Structure-wise, the acidity is soft while the tannins are broad and grainy with a firm edge. Full, rich and approachable.

The 2017 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Roncicone is a supple, fruity wine that offers quite a bit of immediacy and appeal. Sweet red cherry fruit, cedar, spice and tobacco are front and center in this soft, open-knit Chianti Classico. Sweet floral notes linger on the polished finish. Drink it over the next handful of years. By Antonio Galloni on August 2020