Riecine, Chianti Classico 2020 - 75cl
Riecine has been quietly making some of Gaiole's most honest Chianti Classico since the 1970s, and this is their calling card — 100% Sangiovese, Chianti Classico DOCG, grown organically across a patchwork of altitudes and exposures high in the hills of eastern Chianti. No Cabernet, no Merlot to fatten it up; just Sangiovese, which is exactly how the grape shows its face.
The 2020 was warm and dry, but the cool nights of Gaiole kept the fruit fresh, and Riecine's touch is light — the aim is drinkability with a backbone, not oak and extract.
It opens with cranberry and sour red cherry, a mineral edge and a lift of rose and eucalyptus. The palate is bright and medium-bodied, red and black cherry threaded with thyme and oregano, acidity that makes your mouth water and tannins that run from velvety to pleasantly raspy — the savoury Tuscan grip that makes this food wine to its bones. James Suckling gave it 92 points, and it earns them.
This is the bottle for a Tuesday that deserves better — a proper midweek red that doesn't need an occasion.
How to Serve
Serve at 16°C, a touch cooler than most reds. No decant necessary, though ten minutes open won't hurt. An all-purpose red glass is right. Drinking beautifully now.
Where to Drink It
Bocca di Lupo for regional Italian plates. Brat, whose fire suits its savoury side. The Wolseley, for an unfussy plate of pasta and a glass of something honest.
Food Pairings
Anything with tomato and herbs — a proper ragu, a pizza with real char. Or roast chicken with rosemary; the acidity cuts straight through.
