Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Gran Selezione, Ruffino 2021 75cl

Ruffino were making a Gran Selezione decades before the category existed. Riserva Ducale Oro was first bottled in 1947 as a stricter pick from the Riserva Ducale, and the rules only caught up in 2014. Today roughly one in every four bottles of Chianti Classico Gran Selezione opened anywhere in the world is this one.

The fruit comes entirely from Ruffino's own Gretole and Santedame estates in Castellina in Chianti, on hillsides at 300–450 metres with shale and limestone soils. The blend is 80% Sangiovese, with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and the old local grape Colorino making up the rest. The Sangiovese spends a year in large Slavonian oak casks, the other grapes go into barriques and tonneaux, and the finished blend rests in concrete before bottling. Thirty months of ageing in all.

2021 was a good, even year with steady spring rain and a clean harvest. Expect cherry, plum and violet first, then eucalyptus, black pepper and roasted coffee bean as it opens. The palate has real structure, but the tannins are polished rather than gripping, and bright Sangiovese acidity keeps the whole thing moving. James Suckling gave it 95.

For a wine with this much history and a top critic score, the price is fair. It drinks well now with air and will keep developing for a decade.

How to Serve

Serve at around 18°C in a large-bowled glass. Decant for an hour if you're opening it this year.

Where to Drink It

The River Cafe, where Tuscan reds of this calibre are the house language. Bocca di Lupo, for regional Italian cooking that matches it plate for plate. Wiltons on Jermyn Street, for a more formal evening.

Food Pairings

Pappardelle with a slow wild boar ragù is the one. The Sangiovese acidity cuts the richness, and the pepper in the wine meets the game halfway.