Fattoria Rodano Chianti Classico 2020

Fattoria di Rodáno is a top source for classically made, user-friendly and complex Chianti. Located in Castellina in the heart of the Chianti Classico district, the estate dates back as a wine-producing property to the sixteenth century, belonging to the Pozzesi family ever since that time. Vittorio Pozzesi had been in charge of the estate since they first began to bottle wine on their own in 1967 but now his son, Enrico, handles the management of the winery. The domaine’s former winemaker was Guilio Gambelli, who passed away in 2012. Gambelli was one of the most legendary winemakers in Chianti, consulting for such estates as Montevertine and Gianfranco Soldera. 

The style of the Rodáno Chianti bottlings is quite traditional, with Sangiovese playing a dominant role in all of the estate’s various bottlings. The Chianti Classico “normale” is aged entirely in large Slovenian “botte,” and the Riserva is a combination of these large casks and used barriques. Like all great traditional Sangiovese-based wines, the Rodáno wines offer up lovely, bright acidity that adds freshness and focus on the palate, and makes them outstanding partners at the table. The heart and soul of their vineyard holdings is the beautifully situated vineyard of Viacosta, which is a perfect, south-facing bowl of old vines, that average between thirty-five and forty-five years of age. In top vintages, the Rodáno Riserva Chianti bottling is made from the Viacosta vineyard.

The Classico is made of 90% Sangiovese and 10% Canaiolo & Colorino (two local grapes used traditionally for Chianti), from certified organic vineyards in Castellina in Chianti.  The orientation of the vines is south, southwest and the soils are limestone. All the grapes are hand-picked.

New York Times 20 Reds under $20 (Jan. 30, 2020) : "This is a weighty, intense Chianti, rich and complicated, with a lot going on. It’s not the sort of focused wine that delivers sangiovese flavors with laser like clarity, but instead is a fascinating collection of fruit, herbal and earthy sensations that nonetheless make for a delicious wine. " NYT on the 2016