95 points

2016 Ricasoli Colledilà Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG

Monica Larner, Robert Parker Wine Advocate, September 2019

“The 2016 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Colledilà (100% Sangiovese) delivers a tight and focused bouquet that is distinguished by dark fruit aromas, cherry and tart cassis with spice, wild rose and sweet earth at the back. The wine is fresh and firm on the palate, however, it is also immediate in character, meaning that you don't need to wait too much longer to pop the cork. Like the other wines from Barone Ricasoli, the intensity and the brawn of the mouthfeel has been intentionally toned down to give this wine a more elegant and light approach, a nice accompaniment to some delicate charcuterie. Some 27,000 bottles were made.”

94 points

2019 Bibi Graetz Testamatta Rosso

Monica Larner, Robert Parker Wine Advocate, August 2021

“A pure expression of Sangiovese, the Bibi Graetz 2019 Testamatta is a wine in constant evolution. Bibi has added 17 more hectares of vineyard to the program, with 12 hectares in Fiesole (north of Florence) and 5 hectares in San Donato in Colle (south of Florence) with 70-year-old vines. The base of the wine sees fruit from old vines planted in the 1950s in the cool-climate Lamole subzone of Chianti Classico. These new terroirs bring a lot more aromatic nuance and complexity to the wine with perfumed blue flower, candied orange peel, wet earth and plumy black fruit. White Alberese soils add a strong chalky mineral signature to the finish of this elegantly streamlined and linear Tuscan red.”

94 points

2017 Ricasoli Colledilà Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG

Monica Larner, Robert Parker Wine Advocate, April 2021

“The Barone Ricasoli 2017 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Colledilà sources its fruit from a site at 380 meters in elevation called Monte Morello with calcareous alberese soils. These conditions give extra focus and linearity to the wine with layered aromas of crushed stone and spice. The wine is equally fruity with blackberry, wild cherry and crushed rose petal. Colledilà is a classic and lasting expression from Gaiole in Chianti.”

94 points

2017 Ricasoli CeniPrimo Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG

Monica Larner, Robert Parker Wine Advocate, April 2021

“Presenting an extremely elegant mid-weight style, the Barone Ricasoli 2017 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Castello di Brolio CeniPrimo dances across the senses with grace and softness despite any preconceptions concerning this hot, not always easy vintage. The wine opens beautifully in the glass and tastes even better the next day. Delicate forest berry, cassis, dried herbs and crushed flowers give the wine a lot of material that is presented to the senses in careful stages.”

94 points

2018 Bibi Graetz Testamatta Rosso

Monica Larner, Robert Parker Wine Advocate, August 2020

“The 2018 Testamatta shows elegant Sangiovese purity and transparency, starting with delicate wild berry and blueberry tones and finishing long with pretty accents of crushed limestone and a touch of campfire ash. In the glass, the wine is radiant and vivid with a luminous ruby or garnet color. Oak use is reduced to a bare minimum, with barrels that are up to their 16th year of use. The older they are, the better, Bibi explains. As the wine opens in the glass, it presents pretty lilac and violet. This wine represents a blend of fruit from various sites (all with old vines that are farmed organically) across the region of Tuscany. The northern-most sites close to Florence tend to add the floral notes that are so characteristic of this cool vintage (which saw a bit more rain than average and extra work in the vineyards to kept these vines healthy). I visited the vineyards with Bibi in 2018 and remember how beautiful the grapes appeared on the vines. Much of the fruit used here comes from the Vigna del Cancello in Casciano del Murlo, which is midway between Siena and Montalcino. These southern sites give the wine its backbone and tannins. Bibi Graetz tells me that he struggled to create the blend for this 60,000-bottle release. He decided on a final blend, only to change his mind and re-blend two and a half months later. His second stab was specifically aimed at capturing finesse and softening the wine's tannic imprint. Indeed, the wine ultimately offers more in length (with fresh fruit flavors and bright acidity) than it does in power or mid-palate. The finish is silky, long and very fine.”

94 points

2016 Ricasoli Castello di Brolio Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG

Monica Larner, Robert Parker Wine Advocate, September 2019

“The 2016 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Castello di Brolio is a beautiful wine, dense, rich and lasting. The bouquet is intense and profound with layers of red and purple fruit that cede softly to spice, leather and sweet tobacco. The classic 2016 vintage is characterized by its freshness, precision and cellar-worthiness. You get all those qualities here in one very elegant but also food-friendly package. The wine is made with 95% Sangiovese and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and grapes come from a south-facing parcel at an ideal 250 to 450 meters above sea level. Some 50,000 bottles were produced.”

94 points

2012 Bibi Graetz Colore Rosso

Monica Larner, Robert Parker Wine Advocate, September 2018

“The 2012 Colore is on the market now. Production of 2013 and 2014 was skipped, and the next vintage we shall see (very soon) is 2015, which is also reviewed in this report. This vintage produced large berry sizes for Sangiovese—something Bibi Graetz is always happy to see because it is an indicator of elegance and finesse within the context of the house style. If you consider this wine, his observation makes perfect sense. This warm vintage is powerful and rich in its natural state, so any additional berry density might easily lead to overextraction and heaviness. However, the mouthfeel is objectively thinner and more compact in this vintage. Colore represents a blend of Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino in equal parts. The bouquet is redolent of wild berry, dried cherry and toasted spice. This vintage offers a very attractive mineral note as well. Fruit is selected from three of Bibi Graetz's favorite vineyards with ancient vines: Lamole (in Chianti Classico), Vincigliata and Siena. Only 5,000 bottles were made.”

93 points

2017 Ricasoli Roncicone Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG

Monica Larner, Robert Parker Wine Advocate, April 2021

“The Barone Ricasoli 2017 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Castello di Brolio Roncicone is balanced and bright with plenty of fruit, spice, flower and potting soil. The wine is stitched together with balance and precision, making for a terrific and worthy partner to a Tuscan spezzatino, or beef stew. The tannins are especially fine and well integrated, considering the quick-ripening fruit in this hot vintage.”

93 points

2016 Ricasoli Brolio Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG

Monica Larner, Robert Parker Wine Advocate, September 2019

“The 2016 Chianti Classico Riserva Brolio is a terrific wine that lives up to our expectations of a Riserva, while maintaining that playful informality that you don't get in the estate's more contemplative Gran Selezione. Indeed, the Riserva category of Chianti Classico has been largely overlooked ever since Gran Selezione came onto the scene some seven years ago, thus knocking Riserva off the top of the quality pyramid. This wine reminds you why you should take a closer look at Riserva. The bright aromas of dark cherry, spice and tilled earth are fresh and cheerful and are exactly why we are attracted to Chianti Classico in the first place. The blend here is 80% Sangiovese, 15% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in new and used tonneaux for 18 months. The mouthfeel is slender and fresh, making this a perfect wine for slices of steak, or tagliata, with porcini mushrooms. Some 54,000 bottles were made.”

91 points

2017 Ricasoli Brolio Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG

Monica Larner, Robert Parker Wine Advocate, April 2021

“Packaged with a black label to show its Riserva status, this beautiful wine shows classic lines and good harmony. From a hot and dry vintage that threw many challenges at vintners across Tuscany, the Barone Ricasoli 2017 Chianti Classico Riserva Brolio reveals the expertise and know-how of the Ricasoli winemaking team. It opens to dark cherry and blackberry with earthy background aromas and plenty of smoke and crushed mineral. This is the kind of wine you'll want next to a wood-fired lasagna.”