Il Grigio Chianti Classico Riserva 2016

SAN FELICE

Il Grigio Chianti Classico Riserva
2016

Country
Italy
Regulated designation
Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG)
Region
Tuscany
Appellation
Chianti Classico
Classification
Riserva
Varietal(s)
Sangiovese
Alcohol percentage
13.5%
Colour
Red
Sugar
Dry
Producer's website

About this winery

San Felice is a medieval Tuscan hamlet nestled among the hill sides of Chianti Classico near Siena and Montalcino. The surrounding woods, olive groves, and vineyard shave been cultivated for centuries. San Felice Estate, owned by the Grisaldi del Taja family from 1700 until 1968, is today a prestigious winery led by creative, innovative talents who have made great wines since the beginning, including the first Super Tuscan ever made in Chianti Classico, Vigorello. 85% of San Felice’s 140...

See the SAN FELICE detail page for more information on this brand

Production notes

Only the finest sangiovese grapes are carefully selected from the estate Chianti Classico vineyards for this Riserva, the perfect blend of the traditional and the modern. The front label bears Titian’s famous portrait of a medieval knight in armour.

Tasting notes

Deep ruby red. Rich, long-lingering aromas are redolent of violets and wild red berry fruit. Il Grigio is a full-bodied wine, lean and firm, with succulent tannins and a tangy acidity. Ideal when accompanying meat-sauced first courses, roast pigeon, grilled steak.

Press reviews

GardiniNotes.com

- 95 points -

October 2023 (Vintage 2020)

The great reliability of Agricola San Felice, for a reserve that is a varietal explosion: Sangiovese but also Abrusco, Pugnitello, Black Malvasia, Ciliegiolo and Mazzese. Notes of blackberry jam on the nose, hints of laurel and licorice. Brackish-sapid taste, with a return of medlar and licorice sensations.

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Wine Advocate

- 93 points -

Monica Larner, October 2014 (Vintage 2010)

The 2010 Chianti Classico Riserva Il Grigio opens to a deeply saturated color that is thick and luminous at the same time. In terms of bouquet, this Riserva veers toward the far end of the aromatic spectrum (as far as Chianti Classico is concerned) with dark tones of spice, saddle leather, pressed rose and moist earth. The finish excels in terms of softness and richness. This is a bold and modern wine with soft tannins and rich extract.

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Wine Spectator Top 100

- 93 points -

#24 - Wine Spectator Top 100

October 2024 (Vintage 2021)

Offers cherry and plum fruit framed by earth, mineral and wild herb flavors. Poised between elegance and power, this red is beautifully balanced. Dusty tannins support the fruit on the long finish.

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James Suckling

- 93 points -

July 2021 (Vintage 2018)

Black cherries with summer black truffles and dark wood on the nose. A medium-to full-bodied red with medium, round tannins and lovely fruit. It firm and flavorful.

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 Wine Enthusiast

- 93 points -

April 2014 (Vintage 2010)

Hallmark Sangiovese aromas of blue flowers, woodland berries, underbrush, leather and spice take center stage in this stunning wine. The palate delivers succulent black cherry flavor accented by black pepper, cinnamon, mint and sage, with bracing yet ripe tannins. It's already delicious, but hold for additional complexity.

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 Wine Enthusiast

- 93 points -

November 2020 (Vintage 2016)

Dark-skinned fruit, toasted hazelnut, eucalyptus and underbrush aromas form the nose. The medium-bodied palate offers dried black cherry, dried botanical herb and ground clove alongside fine-grained tannins.

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James Suckling

- 92 points -

August 2021 (Vintage 2019)

A delicious red with some structure for the appellation. It’s medium-bodied with lightly chewy tannins and plenty of dried-cherry, mahogany and dried-mushroom character. Give it a year or two

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James Suckling

- 92 points -

July 2024 (Vintage 2021)

This is bright and focused, with aromas of cherries, dried oranges and hints of hibiscus and mild spices. Medium-bodied, crunchy and fresh on the palate, with very fine tannins. Polished, with mineral notes of crushed stones and citrusy nuances at the end. Shows freshness and balance.

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Vinous

- 92 points -

June 2023 (Vintage 2020)

The 2020 Chianti Classico Riserva Il Grigio da San Felice is a potent, heady wine. Succulent black plum, leather, tobacco, menthol and oak are all amplified in this decidedly rich Riserva. The 2020 is not exactly subtle, but it is nicely done, in the style.

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James Suckling

- 92 points -

August 2023 (Vintage 2020)

Aromas of black cherries, bark, and cedar follow through to a medium body, with firm and chewy tannins and a juicy finish. A little austere now but should come out nicely with a year or two of bottle age.

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Wine Advocate

- 92 points -

September 2023 (Vintage 2020)

Reverting to a spicy and savory taste profile, the 2020 Chianti Classico Riserva Il Grigio (with an ample 320,000 bottles made) shows a dark, mid-weight texture with extra heft that comes in the form of baked plum, candied cherry and spice. This is another good value wine from one of the most beautiful properties (and luxury hotels) in Italy.

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Gismondi on Wine

- 90 points -

October 2024 (Vintage 2019)

From the well regarded 2019 vintage, Il Grigio Chianti Classico Riserva is always an assembly of the best grapes carefully selected by hand from the vine. The nose is rich and expressive, mixing forest floor, violets, and wild berries. The plate is a streamlined affair of dry red fruit and black licorice with some fine grained tannins to shed. There is no rush to drink this wine, but if you plan on something autumnal, like a roasted bird or a mushroom dish, it will work. The San Felice Estate is located at Castelnuovo Berardenga, Siena, surrounded by a calcareous marl breakdown of Alberese and Galestro limestones mixed with an abundant gravel-pebble mixture. 80% of the wine matures for 24 months in 60 or 90 hl in Slavonian oak casks and 20% in 225 litre French barriques, followed by a further six months or so in the bottle.

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Wine Spectator

- 90 points -

September 2020 (Vintage 2016)

Intense, featuring plum, cherry, earth and leather aromas and flavors that intermingle with the dense structure. The balance is there, but this needs time to absorb the tannins.

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Jancis Robinson

- 17 points -

May 2024 (Vintage 2021)

This is utterly scrumptious. It's an arpeggio of sweet, audaciously ripe, red-berried, violet-flushed fruit that soars through the glass. Untrammelled freshness. The fruit is the flautist of the vineyard. Dauntlessly about the fruit but at the same time it's not speciously 'fruity'. It's complex. The tannins are silky but have fine-powdered chalky grip. There is spice, a little liquorice bark and a whisper of leafiness – that sort of green-purple petalled velvetiness of woodland violets. And the purity of fruit fills every molecule of the long finish. Bravo!

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