2015 Castello di Bossi Chianti Classico Riserva Berardo

James Suckling called the 2015 Castello di Bossi Berardo “the best Chianti Classico ever made here in living memory,” giving it a near-perfect score of 98 points—“even better than the 1961.” Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate described the Berardo cuvée as a “historic wine,” ranked among the all-time great expressions from the Castelnuovo Berardenga subregion. 

Just one 2015 Chianti Classico scored higher than today’s offer on Suckling’s list: the 99-point Castello di Ama Vigneto Bellavista Gran Selezione, which retails for $214. At just a point lower, the 2015 Berardo represents an epic savings of $174 for one of the greatest, most intellectually complex wines of the vintage, and a Tuscan deal bar none.

The 2015 Castello di Bossi Riserva Berardo boasts the refinement of a top Brunello di Montalcino and belongs next to the best-ever vintages of Mazzei, Frescobaldi, and Antinori. It’s medium garnet to the rim with voluptuous aromas of brandied cherries, sandalwood, and sweet spice, gently touched with dried rose petals. Richly textured on the attack—the mouthfeel alone is worth the price of admission—this Sangiovese is packed with plums and dark chocolate. The finish is textbook Tuscan, braced with dusty tannins.

After first tasting this extraordinary 2015 from the barrel last August in Castello di Bossi’s stone-walled cellar, we handed the wine thief back to famed enologist Alberto Antonini, momentarily floored by the exquisite Sangiovese expression of power and elegance. Numbers whizzed through our heads. We bargained on the spot for a price that would remain static regardless of scores. Needless to say, we weren’t surprised when Suckling then rewarded it with a 98 point score—we anticipated it.

This stunning cuvée is drawn off a magnificent property set on the southernmost edge of Chianti Classico, a sprawling estate of several hundred acres bracketed by evergreens. The high-altitude Berardo vineyard is known for its particularly low yields, averaging a measly 1.6 tons of fruit per acre. Those low yields, together with a microclimate that’s a few degrees warmer and rich soils of calcareous clay loam give this wine its rounded, voluptuous elegance, which nearly every critic comments on. But the structure here is what we can’t get over: layer after layer of spice, florals, and berries peeling back—a treasure for the cellar at an everyday value price.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 14.50%
• 30 mins
• Drink Up
• % Sangiovese
• Serving temperature – 58°
• Cork