2021 Rocca di Montegrossi, Chianti Classico

The name “Ricasoli” looms large in Chianti, but Marco Ricasoli-Firidolfi represents his branch of the family with humility, a hands-on approach, and most important, a well-priced lineup of impeccable Chianti Classico wines. Perhaps it’s that humility that keeps Rocca di Montegrossi under the radar, because the quality of the wines—from vineyards that have been Certified Organic since 2010—demands our attention. It’s a “modern” wine, but also a resolutely authentic wine, and very much the kind of Chianti we’d serve to someone who says they don’t like Chianti. The pitch-perfect balance of forest-floor savor, black cherry fruit, and textural polish is exactly what will bring more wine lovers into the Chianti Classico tent; it isn’t pandering to the ‘international’ palate, but neither is it the kind of excessively rustic style that kept a lot of people away. This is, to put it plainly, a great Tuscan wine. Marco Ricasoli-Firidolfi is a great-great-great grandson of Bettino Ricasoli, the s