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The everyday red from the Gaiole estate where Bettino Ricasoli wrote the first Chianti recipe in 1872. Sangiovese rested nine months in used oak, so the fruit leads. Sour cherry, violet and liquorice, firm but polite. Around £20 to £23.
More than 40,000 Vivino drinkers rate it 3.7 out of 5. Their words match the producer's own: cherry and red fruit first, then tobacco, leather and a light toasted edge from nine months in used oak barrels.
Cherry and red fruit come first, the way Ricasoli's own notes describe them. Behind the fruit sit liquorice and a touch of anise, which the Italian merchant Callmewine picks out too. The wine spends nine months in used 500 litre oak barrels, so the wood shows as toast more than as sweet vanilla.
Violet
Cherry
Plum
Tobacco
Leather
Oak
Liquorice
VanillaMedium bodied, with the sour cherry bite that marks Sangiovese from these hills. The tannins grip lightly and then let go. The 2024 carries 13.5% alcohol, so it stays easy at the table. Across 4,117 Vivino reviews, oak, tobacco and vanilla are the most named notes, just ahead of cherry and red fruit.
It closes long and dry, with the toasted wood note Callmewine describes and a return of liquorice. Ricasoli call the finish pleasant and persistent, and drinkers agree.
A benchmark everyday Chianti Classico from the family that wrote the first Chianti recipe in 1872. James Suckling gave the 2024 91 points, and more than 40,000 Vivino drinkers average it at 3.7 out of 5.
Five merchants list it here. Most price the standard bottle between £19.90 and £23, and Hedonism also sells a half bottle at £13.50. Check the label before you buy, because Ricasoli make a dearer Brolio Riserva as well.
A benchmark Chianti Classico at about £22. It scores highest for food and for a first taste of Sangiovese. It scores lower for cellaring, because this is the estate's yearly release rather than its Riserva.
Sour cherry acidity and medium tannins put it at ease with tomato sauces, grilled beef and hard cheese, which is most of an Italian table.
Sangiovese in its friendliest form: familiar cherry fruit, light oak and no odd edges, so it is a safe first Chianti Classico.
At about £20 to £23 in the UK it undercuts most named estate Chianti Classico, and the Italian merchant Callmewine calls it surprising for the price.
Easy enough to open on a weeknight, though at £20 or more most people will save it for a proper dinner.
A DOCG red from one of Tuscany's oldest estates carries weight at the table, but the Riserva and the Castello di Brolio bottlings are the special occasion wines here.
Chianti Classico asks for twelve months of ageing, and this is the yearly Brolio, not the Riserva, so drink it inside six or seven years.
Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our Wine Fit Score methodology.
A compact view of what the Chianti Classico denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.
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No current retailer offers match this vintage.
Two years are on sale. The 2023 is the riper one at 14%, and Wine Spectator gave it 92 points. The 2024 comes in at 13.5% and took 91 points from James Suckling. The Italian wine website Italy's Finest Wines gives both years three stars out of five.
A mild wet winter left water in the ground, then June to September stayed above 30 degrees with little rain. Ricasoli say those winter reserves carried the vines through, and the wine came in at 13.5% with fresh acidity. James Suckling scored it 91 and Wine Spectator 90. Drink it now and over the next six years.
Rain in May and June built up reserves that saved the vines from a hot dry summer, and cool autumn nights finished the ripening. Ricasoli picked by hand between 29 September and 12 October. The result is the riper of the two years on sale at 14%, and Wine Spectator gave it 92 points.
A mild wet winter left water in the ground, then June to September stayed above 30 degrees with little rain. Ricasoli say those winter reserves carried the vines through, and the wine came in at 13.5% with fresh acidity. James Suckling scored it 91 and Wine Spectator 90. Drink it now and over the next six years.
Drink-now / hold guidance reflects general style cues for this wine, not a forecast for a specific bottle. Where vintage-level editorial notes exist, they appear above.
The Ricasoli family has held Brolio Castle since 1141. Francesco Ricasoli took over in 1993, mapped the estate soils and replanted the vines. The grapes are picked by hand on the family's own hills above Gaiole, at 280 to 480 metres.
Italian wine law sorts bottles into a pyramid. DOCG sits at the top: tightly drawn boundaries, prescribed grapes, mandatory ageing, government tasting before release. DOC is the same idea with looser thresholds. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is broader still, requiring only that 85% of the grapes come from the named territory.
Chianti Classico is in the DOCG tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.
Chianti Classico falls within Tuscany , covering Firenze · Siena. The denomination is further divided into 11 sub-zones.
Ricasoli pick by hand on their own vineyards at 280 to 480 metres around Brolio Castle. Francesco Ricasoli replanted and mapped every plot after 1993. Hand picking your own fruit costs more than buying grapes in.
The wine rests nine months in 500 litre French oak barrels on their second and third fill. Used wood costs a fraction of new barrels, and Millesima note it lets the fruit show rather than the oak.
The rules for Chianti Classico ask for twelve months of ageing before release, and every bottle must pass a tasting panel first. That is a year of cellar space and stock the estate pays for.
Hedonism's February 2026 table puts duty at £3.10 on a 13.5% bottle. Add 20% VAT and close to £6.80 of a £22 bottle is tax, before shipping or the shop's margin.
Millesima list the 2024 at £19.90 and Hedonism the 2023 at £23, for the same size of bottle. That gap of about £3 between shops is competition, and it stops any one of them charging more.
Dishes that go with this wine
Sour cherry acidity and medium tannins make this a tomato and meat wine. Vivino's own food matches for it are beef, veal, pasta and cured meat.
Tomato sauce is sharp, and a soft red tastes flat next to it. The sour cherry acidity in this Chianti Classico meets that sharpness head on and resets your mouth between forkfuls. Sangiovese, the grape behind every Chianti Classico, is built for this job.
Try with: Ragu alla bolognese · Lasagna · Pizza Margherita · Pappa al Pomodoro · More pairings →
Fat from a rare steak coats the tongue and dulls the next bite. The tannins here, firm but polite after nine months in used oak, scrub that fat away. Gaiole in Chianti has eaten this pairing for centuries, a medium bodied Tuscan red against charred beef.
Try with: Fiorentina steak · Ribeye steak · Sirloin steak · Lamb chops · More pairings →
Braised veal is soft and sweet, and it needs a wine of the same weight or it disappears. This one is medium bodied, not heavy, so it sits level with the dish instead of burying it. Veal is one of the four foods Vivino suggests for this wine.
Try with: Ossobuco alla Milanese · Cotoletta alla bolognese · Vitello Tonnato · More pairings →
Mushrooms taste of earth and damp woods, and a purely fruity red fights them. Leather and earthy notes are the third most named group in 4,117 Vivino reviews of this wine. Sangiovese from Chianti Classico stays savoury under the fruit, so glass and plate agree.
Try with: Porcini mushroom risotto · Tagliatelle al tartufo di Acqualagna · Truffle risotto · More pairings →
Salami and aged pecorino are salty, and salt makes tannin taste harder than it is. The bright acidity here softens that clash and keeps the wine juicy. Cured meat is on Vivino's own list of food matches for this Chianti Classico.
Try with: Pecorino sardo e pan carasau · Pizza Diavola · Cheese board · More pairings →
Chilli heat sharpens the tannin and makes this wine taste bitter and hot. Raw fish goes the other way: it is too fine for the grip and turns metallic. Pour a crisp dry white instead, such as Vermentino di Sardegna.
Skip with: Nigiri Sushi · Sashimi · Lamb bhuna · Sweet and sour pork · Pairing guide →
Best in the years above; holds without falling over either side.
A short splash decant softens the first-pour edge and opens the aromatics.
Chianti Classico asks for twelve months of ageing, and this is the yearly Brolio, not the Riserva, so drink it inside six or seven years.
£13.50 is the lowest tracked offer for the current vintage and we have no signal of further discounting.
Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 3 Sep 2026, 13:48 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.
Confidence · HighDrawn from what drinkers consistently report on Vivino and Wine-Searcher, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic.
Confidence · MediumFrom the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.
Confidence · HighOur reading of the price, drawn from the disciplinare, public UK duty rates, and typical landed-cost benchmarks. Not a quote from the producer or a retailer.
Confidence · MediumStyle guidance for this kind of wine at this price point. Treat it as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.
Confidence · MediumSour cherry and red plum, with liquorice and a hint of anise behind them. Nine months in used oak barrels means the wood shows as toast more than as sweet vanilla. The tannins grip a little, then let go. More than 40,000 Vivino drinkers land it at 3.7 out of 5.
The 2024 is 95% Sangiovese with 5% Colorino, on Ricasoli's own fact sheet. Sangiovese is the grape behind every Chianti Classico. Colorino is a dark Tuscan grape used in small amounts to deepen the colour. Some UK merchants still print an older blend with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Tomato and meat dishes. The acidity cuts through a slow cooked ragu or a plate of lasagne, and the tannins handle grilled beef. Vivino lists beef, veal, pasta and cured meat as its own food matches. Hard pecorino works too.
Drink it between now and about 2032. This is the estate's yearly Chianti Classico, not the Riserva, so it is built to be opened young. The 2023 is the riper of the two years on sale, at 14% alcohol. Both are ready now: the 2023 has until about 2031 and the 2024 until about 2032.
No. Brolio Riserva is a separate bottling that spends longer in barrel and costs more. This page is the plain Brolio Chianti Classico, the estate's yearly release. Look for the word Riserva on the label before you buy.
Because Bettino Ricasoli wrote down the first recipe for Chianti in 1872. His family has owned Brolio Castle since 1141, which makes them one of the oldest wine families in the world. Francesco Ricasoli has run the estate since 1993 and replanted its vineyards.
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