Castello Vicchiomaggio
Castello Vicchiomaggio's single-vineyard Chianti Classico Riserva, Sangiovese with Cabernet Sauvignon off heavy clay above Greve. 18 months in barrique and large oak bring cherry, sweet spice and soft tannins. A great-value Tuscan red.
Eighteen months in barrique and large oak over Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon grown on heavy Greve clay; here is how the estate's single-vineyard Riserva shows in the glass.
Ruby tipping to garnet, with a nose the estate describes as a chocolate praline filled with raspberry syrup and candied cherry. Eighteen months in second-passage barrique and large oak cask lay vanilla, sweet spice and tobacco over the fruit. Vivino drinkers most often log oak, cherry and red berry, with a leather and earth edge off the heavy Greve clay.
Cherry
Plum
Raspberry
Tobacco
Leather
Oak
Vanilla
ChocolateWarm and enveloping in the mouth, carried by the soft tannins the producer flags and the bright Sangiovese acidity that keeps it savoury. The Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend adds backbone and a darker plum and blackcurrant note to the cherry core. Yields held to 40 hectolitres a hectare off vines at 220 to 265 metres show in the concentration, and drinkers reach for rich, fleshy and dense cherry with mocha.
The close is long and jammy, sweet ripe fruit edged with the dry, dusty Sangiovese grip that marks a Chianti Classico Riserva built to evolve in bottle for years.
A structured, single-vineyard Riserva that Vivino rates 4.1 from more than 9,000 votes and tags among the best-value Chianti Classico reds. The 2021 and 2022 drink well now and will hold a decade; pour it with red meat, game or an aged pecorino as Castello Vicchiomaggio suggests.
Three vintages are listed in the UK from around £25, with a 2021 also offered as a magnum for the cellar.
Strong on food and value, this is a Riserva for the table and the cellar more than for an everyday midweek pour.
A Sangiovese-led Riserva with bright acidity and firm-but-soft tannin is a benchmark food red, built for Tuscan meat, ragù and aged cheese.
Lowest UK listing near £25 sits just under the Chianti Classico median of about £29, and Vivino tags it among the best-value reds in the appellation.
DOCG Riserva with eighteen months in oak, 13.5% ABV and structured Sangiovese tannin; the 2021 will hold a decade in bottle.
Classic indigenous-grape expression at a mid-tier DOCG with approachable soft tannins; the barrique and Cabernet add a step of structure beyond entry Chianti.
Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our editorial 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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From the structured, age-worthy 2021 through the riper 2022 to the cooler, leaner 2023, each Greve harvest reads differently.
A wet, mildew-pressured 2023 in central Tuscany demanded hard selection; the result is a fresher, lighter-framed Riserva for earlier drinking.
Hot, dry 2022 brought riper, rounder fruit and softer tannins, so the 2022 drinks more openly young while the clay site kept acidity in check.
A cool, balanced 2021 across Chianti Classico gave structured Sangiovese with firm acidity. The most age-worthy of the three, built to hold and the vintage offered as a magnum.
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.
A Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG off one Castello Vicchiomaggio vineyard at 220 to 265 metres, cropped to 40 hectolitres a hectare and held eighteen months in oak before release.
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 Tuscany. The denomination is further divided into 11 sub-zones.
Agostino Petri comes off one Castello Vicchiomaggio vineyard cropped to 40 hectolitres a hectare, well below the Chianti Classico ceiling, so each vine makes less wine and costs more to grow.
Second-passage barriques and large casks tie the wine up for eighteen months, plus a further spell in bottle before release, financing barrels and cellar space the price has to carry.
Riserva status under the Chianti Classico DOCG demands at least 24 months of ageing, holding stock off the market far longer than a base Chianti.
Heavy clay at 220 to 265 metres above Greve, farmed as guyot vines at 5,000 per hectare, raises labour against flatter, higher-yielding sites.
Listed around £25 against a Chianti Classico median near £29 and tagged best-value in its class on Vivino, so UK retail pricing stays sharp.
UK excise on a still wine at 13.5% is £2.67 a bottle before 20% VAT, so roughly £7 of a £25 shelf price goes to the taxman, not the estate.
Dishes that complement this wine
The estate points to roast red meat, game and aged pecorino, and the wine's acidity and soft tannin explain why those plates work.
Sangiovese tannin and acidity scrub the fat and char of a rare-grilled steak, while the Cabernet backbone stands up to the protein. The savoury, dry-edged grip resets the palate between bites.
Try with: Fiorentina steak · Brasato al Barolo · ribeye steak · Sunday Roast Beef · More pairings →
The bright acidity that runs through this Riserva cuts the richness of a slow meat ragù and mirrors the tomato, a classic Sangiovese match. Soft tannins keep it comfortable against braised lamb.
Try with: Agnello Ragu Lucano · lamb shank · beef stew · venison stew · More pairings →
Castello Vicchiomaggio points to aged cheese, and the logic holds: acidity and dry tannin cut the fat and salt of a mature pecorino, while the wine's sweet-spice and cherry fruit lift it.
Try with: Pecorino sardo e pan carasau · strong cheddar cheese · cheese board
The leather, tobacco and earthy notes Vivino drinkers flag bridge to truffle and porcini, and the soft tannins leave a delicate primo intact rather than flattening it.
Try with: Tagliatelle al tartufo di Acqualagna · More pairings →
A medium-bodied Riserva with eighteen months of oak matches the weight of roast game and pork without burying it, and the cherry fruit answers the sweetness of crisped skin.
Try with: Roast Pheasant · Roast Duck · roast pork · Roast Lamb with Mint Sauce · More pairings →
Barrique tannin and 13.5% warmth amplify chilli heat, and the wine's savoury grip turns metallic against sugary sweet-and-sour glazes. Reach for an aromatic Italian white instead.
Skip with: Crispy chilli beef · Szechuan beef · Sweet and sour pork · Mongolian beef · Pairing guide →
Castello Vicchiomaggio says this single-vineyard wine can evolve in bottle for years; the structured 2021 is the one to lay down.
Peak around 2028. Best in the years above; holds without falling over either side.
A short splash decant softens the first-pour edge and opens the aromatics.
DOCG Riserva with eighteen months in oak, 13.5% ABV and structured Sangiovese tannin; the 2021 will hold a decade in bottle.
£24.90 is the lowest tracked offer for the current vintage and we have no signal of further discounting.
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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 · MediumIt is a Sangiovese-led Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, made from a single Castello Vicchiomaggio vineyard above Greve in Chianti.
The wine spends eighteen months in second-passage barriques and large oak casks, then rests in bottle before release, giving its vanilla, sweet-spice and tobacco notes.
Ruby tipping to garnet, with cherry, raspberry and candied-fruit aromas over sweet spice and tobacco. The palate is warm and savoury with soft tannins and a long, jammy finish.
Tuscan grilled beef such as bistecca, lamb or game ragù, roast game birds and aged pecorino. Acidity and soft tannin cut fat and salt; avoid fiery chilli and sweet-sour dishes.
The 2021, 2022 and 2023 are listed in the UK. The structured 2021 will hold around a decade, the riper 2022 drinks well young, and the 2023 is a fresher, earlier-drinking style.
Yes. It is listed from about £25, below the Chianti Classico median, and Vivino rates it 4.1 from more than 9,000 votes and tags it among the appellation's best-value reds.
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