The 2021 Fèlsina Chianti Classico Riserva is a powerful and profoundly traditional expression of Sangiovese from a vintage that is already being called legendary. If the normale is the benchmark for Chianti Classico, the Riserva is where Fèlsina’s masterful touch and the unique character of their Castelnuovo Berardenga terroir truly begin to command serious attention.
The 2021 vintage in Chianti Classico was a dream for traditionalists, producing wines with perfect balance, aromatic intensity, and a firm structure. Sourced from the estate's finest vineyard parcels, this is a step up in every dimension from the excellent normale bottling.
The nose is deep, complex, and layered. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied and muscular, with a dense core of dark fruit framed by a formidable structure. The acidity is vibrant and perfectly integrated, providing energy and ensuring a long, graceful evolution in the cellar.
Aged for 12 months in large Slavonian oak casks, this is a wine that honors tradition and is built for patience.
This is my wife’s favorite wine; she said that it is perfect. I think that is the best review a wine can get.
About the ProducerFèlsina is the guardian of the southern border of Chianti Classico. Located in Castelnuovo Berardenga, where the rocky Chianti hills meet the lunar landscape of the Crete Senesi, the estate produces Sangiovese of power and warmth. Under the Poggiali family it has kept its top Sangiovese wines free of international blending partners, and it represents the wilder, more intense side of the appellation.
Rancia is the icon: a historic, high-altitude vineyard once home to a medieval Benedictine monastery, on limestone-rich alberese and galestro, released as Riserva and, from 2021, as Gran Selezione. Fontalloro is the benchmark for 100% Sangiovese, straddling the border between Chianti Classico and the Colli Senesi, savory and uncompromising rather than polished. Maestro Raro, first made in 1987, is Cabernet Sauvignon with a Chianti Classico soul, and the Vin Santo, from dried Trebbiano and Malvasia aged for years in small caratelli, is one of Tuscany’s great sweet wines.
The core of the range is just as convincing. The Berardenga Chianti Classico and the Riserva, aged in large Slavonian casks, speak more of the soil than the cellar, and the Chianti Colli Senesi, from vineyards just outside the Classico border, is one of the best values in Tuscany. Even in a hot, solar year like 2022, Fèlsina kept its nerve: crushed alberese rock, dried tobacco and tart black cherry rather than jam. For me it is one of the true reference estates of Chianti Classico.
Vintage Context 2021 Vintage Released 2023
★★★★★
Exceptional. Fresh, vibrant, and intense. High potential for Gran Selezione.
