There’s a difference between Chianti and Chianti Classico, the Tuscan DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, or Denomination of Controlled Origin and Guaranteed) celebrating 100 years as an appellation. Chianti Classico is one of seven subzones producing Sangiovese wine within the Chianti region of Italy, and it produces the highest quality.

“There’s never been a better time to drink Chianti Classico than right now,” says Carlin Karr, director of beverage for Frasca Hospitality. 

She and Frasca Hospitality Group co-owner Bobby Stuckey share what makes wine from the small, historic appellation so great after a century, at the 2024 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen.

Ecological protection

“To me, the most compelling point is the incredible amount of biodiversity in the region,” Karr says. “It’s an incredible place to visit. You’ll notice when you’re there nestled in between Florence and Siena that it is incredibly forested. It’s hilly, it’s filled with woods, olive trees, vineyards of course, and cyprus. And these four things have driven the agricultural economy of Chianti Classico for hundreds, thousands of years. And it matters because the woods in particular cool down the region. And this is so important as we move into the future because very, very few wine regions have this factor of so much concentration of forest, and that is great for, of course, global warming. It provides a source of water as well with this high concentration of forest, but it really protects the overall ecosystem having so much woods.”

Affordability

“The most compelling part about Chianti Classico is its great value,” Karr says. “Some of these wines are under $30 retail. You can’t get a great bottle of $30 Burgundy if your life depends on it.”

The pair is leading a guided tasting through eight bottles of Chianti Classico, ranging from $26 (for 2020 Podere Capaccia Chianti Classico Radda) to $83 (for 2020 Riecine ‘Vigna Gittore’ Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Gaiole).

“There is no better value period,” Stuckey agrees. “I’ve never seen a renaissance like this of a classic region.”

Terroir

“They show you a sense of place. These wines are all going to show that they’re really big vehicles of terroir,” says Stuckey who’s been a master sommelier for 20 years. “You want it to tell you where it is.”

The duo describes fresh, alpine qualities from the high-altitude forests, piney cyprus, and a sea quality from Chianti Classico wines, plus a floral quality from the Lamole zone (or UGA for Unità Geografiche Aggiuntive, meaning Additional Geographical Units).

“This is so Tuscan in Tuscany,” Karr says. “They describe these flavors as macchia Mediterranea, which is the smell and aromatics, the local shrubs of the place. And that really translates in the wine.”

Seasonality

“Sangiovese is the great red wine of summer because there’s a savory crispness to it,” Stuckey says. “There’s a cut, there’s a savor. It’s just great red wine for summer.”

Karr calls the 2021 I Fabbri Chianti Classico Lamole “such an easy summer drinker. Really kind of a versatile, fresh red wine.”

Symbolism

“Chianti Classico will always have the black rooster on the label. This is just a point of distinction that everyone should be aware of,” Karr says.

Called gallo nero in Italian, the visual has been a symbol of the Chianti Military League since 1384. Legend has it that when Florence and Siena both wanted control of Chianti, the republics agreed to each send a medieval knight toward the region at dawn when the rooster crowed, and where they met would be designated as the boundary between the two territories. 

Siena chose a white rooster, while Florence — either clever or crafty — kept a black rooster in the dark until the day of the decision then let it out long before dawn. The premature crow gave Florence its major advantage, establishing the wine region in 1716, where the oldest consortium of wine makers in Italy would choose the black rooster emblem in 1924. It’s been a trademark of high quality wine with great value ever since.