L'Erta di Radda, Chianti Classico

Chianti Classico just keeps racking up the wins. Not long after we went nuts over a revelatory 2021 bottling from Candialle, which is headquartered in Panzano, along came the latest release from L’Erta di Radda—so named for its steep, high-altitude vineyards in another of Chianti’s brand-name villages, Radda. Once again, we were floored, and once again, it’s not just the eye-popping quality of the wine itself but the price that amazes. L’Erta di Radda is a Certified Organic estate of tiny dimensions, whose shipments to the US number in the hundreds—not thousands—of cases. If this wine were a Bourgogne Pinot Noir from a similarly artisan-scale producer (and it compares more than favorably to quality red Burgundy), it would cost twice as much. There’s much more to snack on below, but the quick bite is this: You cannot find more wine for the money, period. And by “more wine” I refer not just to pure deliciousness but to authenticity and true craftsmanship. Diego Finocchi was barely out of