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Vallepicciola
Vallepicciola's Chianti Classico is pure Sangiovese from Pievasciata, in Castelnuovo Berardenga. Pale ruby, with red forest fruit, violet and black pepper over lively acidity. The 2021 made Wine Spectator's Top 100 of 2024.
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Pure Sangiovese from every Sangiovese vineyard on the Vallepicciola estate, 380 to 440 metres up in Castelnuovo Berardenga. Expect red forest fruit, violet and black pepper over high acidity.
Red forest fruit such as currant leads, with plum and violets behind it and a spice that recalls black pepper. Vallepicciola's own note calls that pepper unmistakable. In the 2023 there is ripe cherry too.
Violet
Cherry
Plum
Red forest berries
Oak
Black pepperPale ruby and medium-bodied, with high, lively acidity and soft tannins. Ten months in large barrels, then six to eight months in small barrels used once before, round it out. It then rests three to five months in bottle before release.
The finish lasts well. The 2023 comes from a wet spring and a hot, dry summer, a year whose young Chianti Classico tastes lively and clean.
This is the first step of Vallepicciola's Chianti Classico range, below its Riserva and its Lapina Gran Selezione. Wine Spectator placed the 2021 at number 37 in its Top 100 wines of 2024. The estate gives it ten years: drink the 2023 by 2033 and the 2021 by 2031.
Three shops on this page sell it, all with UK duty and VAT paid. The 2023 costs about £18 to £20 a bottle. The 2021, a Wine Spectator Top 100 wine from a top-rated year, is £29.80.
75cl · 2021: £29.80, 1 UK retailer
Its strongest cards are Food and Beginner. High acidity and soft tannins suit the table, in a classic style of pure Sangiovese.
High, lively acidity and soft tannins make this a wine for the table. Pasta with meat ragù, cured meats, medium-aged cheese and grilled steak all work.
Pure Sangiovese in a classic, medium-bodied style: red fruit, violet, pepper and fresh acidity. Easy to read with food, and the DOCG label says what it is.
The 2023 at about £18 to £20 costs less than most Chianti Classico in UK shops. The 2021 at £29.80 is dearer, but it comes from a top-rated year and made Wine Spectator's Top 100.
A DOCG Chianti Classico from a Pievasciata estate, and the 2021 made Wine Spectator's Top 100 of 2024. The 2021 makes a good gift; the 2023 is the everyday bottle.
About £18 to £20 for the 2023, and a style that wants food: a good midweek bottle with pasta. The 2021 at £29.80 is more of a treat.
The estate gives it ten years, so the 2023 will keep until 2033. It is the first step of the range: the estate gives its Riserva and Gran Selezione longer.
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.
In Chianti Classico, 2021 brought a hot summer and a later harvest, and vibrant reds with ripe tannins. In 2023 a wet spring brought downy mildew, then the summer turned hot and dry, with smaller crops of lively wine.
In Chianti Classico, a wet spring brought downy mildew and smaller crops, then a hot, dry summer lasted until harvest. The young wines taste lively and clean. Drink this one by 2033.
In Chianti Classico, a hot summer and a later harvest gave vibrant, focused reds with ripe tannins, though spring frost cut yields in some lower vineyards. Drink it now or keep it until 2031.
In Chianti Classico, a wet spring brought downy mildew and smaller crops, then a hot, dry summer lasted until harvest. The young wines taste lively and clean. Drink this one by 2033.
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.
In the late 1990s the Bolfo family set out to give new life to the ruins of an old convent at Pievasciata. Vallepicciola now farms 109 hectares of vines, about 150 football pitches, and makes its wine in a cellar finished in 2020.
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.
Wine route
Full day, longer with tastings · 5 stops
Open the drive
Winery
Castelnuovo Berardenga
Made at Vallepicciola, Castelnuovo Berardenga. Directions
Wine route in the zone: Strada Chiantigiana SR 222.
Vallepicciola ages it 10 months in large barrels, 6 to 8 more in small barrels used once before, then 3 to 5 months in bottle. That cellar time ties up barrels, space and stock before a bottle is sold.
This wine draws on every Sangiovese vineyard on the estate, while the Lapina Gran Selezione comes from one vineyard. It is the first step of the range: the 2023 sells here for about £18 to £20.
The 2021 comes from a top-rated Chianti Classico year and sells here at £29.80, against about £18 to £20 for the 2023. Wine Spectator placed it at number 37 in its Top 100 of 2024.
Vallepicciola makes its wine in a cellar finished in 2020, with 6,000 square metres of floor over three levels, two of them underground. A building on that scale has to be paid for over many vintages.
Vallepicciola farms 109 hectares of vines, about 150 football pitches, in nine neighbouring zones. That scale spreads the cost of the cellar, machines and staff over many bottles.
Of an £18 bottle of the 2023 at 13.5%, about £6.10 is tax: £3.10 alcohol duty and £3 VAT. That is about a third of the price before the wine itself is counted.
Dishes that go with this wine
The estate pairs this Chianti Classico with cured meats, medium-aged cheeses and pasta with Tuscan meat ragù. Its high acidity is what makes those matches work.
The high acidity of this pure Sangiovese cuts through a rich tomato and meat sauce, so each mouthful stays fresh. Vallepicciola itself suggests its Chianti Classico with pasta and Tuscan meat ragù.
Try with: Ragu alla bolognese · Lasagna · Pizza Margherita · More pairings →
Lively acidity in this Chianti Classico cuts through the fat of salami and roast pork, so the next slice tastes as good as the first. The soft tannins of the Sangiovese never fight the meat.
Try with: Porchetta · Lucanica · Gnocco fritto · More pairings →
Salt in a medium-aged cheese softens the tannins of this Sangiovese and brings its red fruit forward. A Chianti Classico like Vallepicciola's suits a Pecorino or a mixed cheese board.
Try with: Cheese board · Pecorino sardo e pan carasau · Frico
The protein and char of a grilled steak soften the tannins of this Chianti Classico, and its acidity freshens the rich meat. A Fiorentina is the Tuscan match for a Tuscan Sangiovese.
Try with: Fiorentina steak · Ribeye steak · Sirloin steak
The black pepper and violet in this Sangiovese meet the herbs and pepper on a roast. As a medium-bodied red, Vallepicciola's Chianti Classico lifts roast pork or lamb without swamping it.
Try with: Roast pork · Leg of lamb · Roast chicken · More pairings →
Chilli heat makes the tannin and alcohol of this Chianti Classico taste harsh and bitter. The wine does nothing to cool the burn, so keep this Sangiovese for milder food.
Skip with: Jungle Curry · Crispy chilli beef · Pizza Diavola · Pairing guide →
The estate gives this Chianti Classico ten years. Drink the 2023 by 2033 and the 2021 by 2031. The 2021 comes from a hot year with ripe tannins and can be opened now or kept.
Best in the years above; holds without falling over either side.
A short splash decant softens the first-pour edge and opens the aromatics.
Aim for the cooler end on a warm day; warmer end opens up more aromatics.
The estate gives it ten years, so the 2023 will keep until 2033. It is the first step of the range: the estate gives its Riserva and Gran Selezione longer.
£18.00 for a 75cl bottle of the 2023, at XtraWine, is the best price we track, and we have no signal of further discounting.
Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 28 Oct 2026, 09:03 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.
Confidence · HighBased on the producer's published tasting notes.
Confidence · HighFrom 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 pale ruby, medium-bodied Sangiovese with red forest fruit, plum, violet and black pepper. The acidity is high and the tannins are soft, so it drinks well young and with food.
It is 100% Sangiovese, from all of the estate's Sangiovese vineyards at Pievasciata in Castelnuovo Berardenga. The vines grow 380 to 440 metres up, on limestone and clay.
It spends 10 months in large barrels, then 6 to 8 months in small barrels used once before. It then rests 3 to 5 months in bottle before release.
Buy the 2023 for everyday drinking at about £18 to £20, or the 2021 at £29.80 for a top-rated year. Wine Spectator placed the 2021 at number 37 in its Top 100 wines of 2024.
Pasta with Tuscan meat ragù, boards of cured meats and medium-aged cheeses suit it best. The high acidity cuts through the fat, and the soft tannins do not fight the meat.
The estate gives it ten years. We would drink the 2023 by 2033 and the 2021 by 2031.
9 retailers
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£43.83
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£24.00
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7 retailers
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£67.00
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7 retailers
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7 retailers
£19.00
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