Badia a Passignano Chianti Classico Gran Selezione, Antinori 2021 75cl

Badia a Passignano is a wine with an address most estates can only dream of: an eleventh-century abbey in the hills of Chianti Classico, where Antinori have vinified since the 1980s. The 2021 Gran Selezione is 100% Sangiovese from the vineyards surrounding the monastery, and it represents the very top of the Chianti Classico pyramid.

Gran Selezione is the appellation's highest designation, reserved for estate-grown fruit that meets the strictest standards. Passignano lies in the eastern reaches of the Classico zone, where altitude and cooler nights preserve freshness. The 2021 was a classic, balanced Tuscan vintage, and it shows in the poise of this wine.

Aged in oak, it offers ripe black cherry and dried plum, sweet balsamic and violet, with the earthy, almost incense-like note the abbey vineyards are known for. The tannins are ripe and sculpted, the acidity bright, the finish long and layered with tobacco and dark spice. This is Sangiovese at full, serious volume.

At around £49 for a Gran Selezione this is genuinely well priced for the tier. Drinkable now with a good decant, but it will reward five to twelve years in the cellar, gaining tertiary complexity all the while.

How to Serve

Serve at 17–18°C in a large Burgundy bowl. Decant a good ninety minutes ahead — the 2021 is tightly wound and blossoms with air.

Where to Drink It

Locanda Locatelli, Marylebone — a room that respects a wine of this stature. Enoteca Turi, Chelsea — a cellar built for Italian classics. Murano, Mayfair — Angela Hartnett's Italian-leaning tasting menu.

Food Pairings

Roast venison with juniper is a wonderful match for the wine's savoury depth. It also loves a wedge of aged Pecorino Toscano.