2013 Tenuta di Capraia Chianti Classico Effe 55 Gran Selezione

Enhanced By Extended Barrel & Bottle-Aging

The day we first tasted the 2013 Tenuta di Capraia Chianti Classico Effe 55 Gran Selezione, we met the importer for an early dinner at San Francisco’s SPQR on Fillmore Street. We started with a glass of white from their peerless Italian wine list to go with our octopus and chickpea antipasto, and then our friend pulled out a few reds. He had just poured the “Effe 55” when our entrees hit the table — everything paired so perfectly that we were reminded why every wine has to pass our judging panel before we offer it. Tasted again out of a fresh bottle back at HQ the next day, it again surpassed expectations. Dark-fruited and with masculine aromas of leather and tobacco, the single-parcel “Effe 55” shows off the grace of the Setriolo Vineyard soils and the warmth of a Chianti Classico Riserva, enhanced by extended barrel- and bottle-aging. 95 points and “Highly Recommended” by Wine Spectator. Just 56 cases up for grabs.

Tenuta di Capraia is an incredibly consistent producer, and their 2013 Effe 55 Gran Selezione is the perfect marriage of a stellar Tuscan growing season and Chianti Classico’s prestigious Gran Selezione category. The stringent new designation mandates 80% Sangiovese grown only in estate soils, and the single-parcel “Effe 55” surpasses those standards: It is made from 100% Sangiovese Grosso from the Capraia property’s 5-acre Setriolo vineyard.

Tenuta di Capraia’s Setriolo vineyard, whose soils include a high proportion of sand and chalk, has long been considered one of the finest parcels on their estate in Castellina in Chianti — and, as the “Effe 55” demonstrates, it’s well deserving of a special bottling.

After 15 months in 500L tonneaux and a year in bottle, the finished product earned an impressive 95-point score and “Highly Recommended” salute from Wine Spectator.

The mission of Gran Selezione is to highlight special Chianti Classico terroirs, and this wine goes well beyond, showing off a stellar producer and 96-point vintage that Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate found to be unsurpassed in all their years of rating Chianti.

Drinking beautifully now, this wine should mature nicely over a decade in the cellar. Don’t delay. And though production in the 2013 vintage is small, our 56 cases  Even in historic vintages like production is small, and our allocation is even smaller.

— The Wine Access Wine Team

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

• ABV 14.00%
• 1 hour
• Now – 2028
• % Sangiovese
• Serving temperature – 60°
• Cork