Castello di Volpaia Chianti Classico Riserva 2015

The Stianti Mascheroni family has worked in the tiny hilltop town of Volpaia since 1966, but they and winemaker Lorenzo Regoli have reached new heights with the 2015 Riserva. Their highest-scoring wine to date, it’s a balanced, complex red with a long, gorgeous finish. The grapes, sourced from eight different parcels, are farmed organically in the sandstone soils on the hillside below the town. They are crushed and vinified in steel tanks, then aged in a mix of Slavonian oak casks (80 percent) and French oak barriques (20 percent) for two years.

Tasting Note

Though saturated with black currant and blackberry fruit and backed by opaque tannins, this red is pure and balanced. Thyme, iron, leather and tar notes give this complexity, while the finish goes into overtime. Best from 2023 through 2040.—Bruce Sanderson