Read more: The Chianti Classico Report

The region is still digesting 2023’s updates, which only apply to the Gran Selezione category (and only from vintage 2027). These changes see an increase in the minimum amount of Sangiovese used in the blend from 80 percent to 90 percent, and also restrict the blending varieties to eight Italian natives: fragrant Canaiolo, Malvasia Nera and Mammolo; delicate Ciliegiolo, inky Colorino, fresh Foglia Tonda, plush Pugnitello and potent Sanforte. Both moves have their critics, but arguably reflect the direction many producers had been trending anyway. Over 80 percent of the Gran Selezione samples received when compiling the Chianti Classico Report 2023 were varietal Sangiovese and, perhaps in anticipation of a future ban, fewer than 10 percent included non-Tuscan grapes. Michele Braganti of the fast-rising Monteraponi says his decision to make Gran Selezione was precisely because of the regulation change that eliminated international varieties. He hopes that highlighting pure or almost pure Sangiovese will allow the whole territory to ‘speak a single language’.

However, Dr. Marco Pallanti, Consorzio President when Gran Selezione was proposed and approved and a big supporter of the category, finds the banning of international varieties perplexing. He stressed that Chianti Classico has always been blended from red and white grapes and that moving closer to ‘pure’ Sangiovese ‘could change the eclecticism Chianti Classico has always had.’ What will happen to his category-leading Gran Selezioni, some of which contain dashes of Merlot along with Malvasia Nera, remains to be seen.

Roberto Stucchi Prinetti of Badia a Coltibuono concurs – though he said he wasn’t in favour of allowing international varieties at the time, 40 years on it makes little sense to disallow their use for a single category. He is especially against raising the minimum Sangiovese to 90 percent, noting this is an area with ‘over 100 indigenous varietals in the old field-blends’. His own Cultus Riserva (emphatically not Gran Selezione) is 80 percent Sangiovese and includes all eight complementary varieties, while his Riserva and Annata use Ciliegiolo, Canaiolo and Colorino that were selected from old, mixed vineyards and planted in their own plots in the late ‘80s, allowing them to be vinified separately before blending.

Meanwhile, Riserva and Annata wines remain much more likely to be blends. Only a third of Annata samples from the Report and just under half the Riservas were pure Sangiovese. International grapes – especially plumping Merlot – remain popular, included in a quarter of the Annata wines and a third of the Riserva, as concerns remain around pure Sangiovese’s consumer appeal, especially in international markets.

Federica Mascheroni Stianti of pure Sangiovese advocates Castello di Volpaia said that their annata, which only ages one year before release, has a little Merlot to round it out. Vignamaggio’s Francesco Naldi said their Riserva has 10 percent Merlot for rounded structure while the Gran Selezione gets five to seven percent Cabernet Sauvignon for added complexity, though he hoped new clones and climate change would soon leave Sangiovese in less need of this ‘support’.  Unexpectedly for this late-ripening variety, varietal Sangiovese wines among those sampled were actually more likely to have elevated alcohol (above 14%) when compared with the blended wines. Perhaps as the climate warms, blending grapes will ironically be used more for slimming wines down rather than bulking them up.

Among native grapes, Canaiolo, Colorino and Malvasia Nera have played an increasingly important role, especially among the Annata wines tasted, over half of which included some natives in their blend. Braganti of Monteraponi emphasised his belief in Canaiolo and Colorino. Paolo de Marchi of the iconic Isole e Olena noted that the vine selection work done for Sangiovese over the past decades is now occurring for Canaiolo. With better genetics plus the more sensitive harvest timing and vinification that weren’t possible for field blends, these grapes will likely underpin the future success of Gran Selezione. Both sceptics (like Stucchi Prinetti) and hardcore believers (like Duccio Corsini of Principe Corsini, who said Gran Selezione had dispelled the notion that Tuscan wine should be ‘good and cheap’) largely agree this can only help the region as a whole.