2013 Vigneto Bellavista Chianti Cl Gran Sel Castello di Ama

A fine red with blueberry, lemon and mineral character. Medium body, fine tannins and a fresh and very clean finish. Linear and focused. Structured. Better in a year or two but stylish now.

The superb 2013 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigneto Bellavista shows impeccable balance and offers a classic portrait of Sangiovese (with a small part Malvasia Nera). Castello di Ama has a beautifully unique way of interpreting the potential of the Chianti Classico appellation and this wine is a prime example. The bouquet follows classic lines with wild berry and spice, but Vigneto Bellavista also boasts a wild side with some cured meat and animal-like aromas that suit it very well. The mouthfeel is polished and streamlined, but those dark fruit flavors should flesh out with more bottle aging.

Black cherry, plum, graphite, smoke, dried Mediterranean and crushed rocks are front and center in the 2013 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigneto Bellavista. Searing tannins give the 2013 much of its energy and vibrancy. A dark, brooding yet austere, mid-weight wine in the best of the Bellavista tradition, the 2013 is going to need at least a few years to come into its own. Today, the 2013 Bellavista is especially forbidding. It won't be ready to drink for a good handful of years, and even that may be optimistic.

Complex and inviting aromas of sweet cherry, leather and spice lead to a core of cherry and strawberry fruit, singed by tobacco and earthy, woodsy accents. Best from 2019 through 2028.