Rocca di Montegrossi Rosso Geremia Toscana 2018

Double 96 points! And that’s just the tip of things for this legendary Tuscan producer. Galloni calls it “Stellar...A wine of energy and delineation.” with Dunnuck marking it as “Full-bodied but weightless...this is a stunner of a wine.”

And did you see that price? Under $50 for a wine of this pedigree, with this sort of critical praise, it’s just stunning, and stunning is just what Marco Ricasoli-Firidolfi is all about. Rocca di Montegrossi is a Chianti Classico-based stalwart, and vintner Marco Ricasoli-Firidolfi is the latest in a long line of familial luminaries that are securing the future of Chianti Classico.

Set in the Gaiole commune of Siena, Monti di Chianti is a mountainous area revered for producing some of the most intensely structured and powerful Chianti wines in the region. The estate covers some 100 hectares, of which only 40 are planted – evenly split between grapes and olive groves. The soils for the vineyards are limestone marls interspersed with clay as high up as 510 meters above sea level. Though the estate is most famous for its Chianti Classico wines based on sangiovese – it is this Geremia that first caught our attention. A Super-Tuscan style of some 80% merlot, supported with 20% cabernet sauvignon. Big, without being flashy, this is structured and angular, with an expressive minerality that hearkens back to the estate’s unique terroir. Minimal oak keeps this pure, with an exceptional complexity of fruit and spices to give this depth and charm. It’s serious...but in a uniquely amiable way.

Sweet red cherries, blueberries, blackberries, pomegranate molasses, and slow-roasted fennel develop with a few swirls of the glass. On the first sip, hints of iron, sun-baked clay, and cool graphite give a mineral undercurrent to all the expressive fruit, and the dusty and tannic structure comes rushing in on the finish. We first tasted this in May, and it has completely transformed since then – far more open and fruit-forward, yet with decades left to mature, easily. This is a wine to simply rock you to your core.

PAIRING IDEAS: Go with the classic Steak Tagliata here – simply seasoned with salt, olive oil, and black pepper – then seared hot and fast to a cool medium-rare. Slice and serve atop a copious amount of fresh and peppery arugula with a squeeze of lemon.