2020 Antinori, Piero - Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Badia a Passignano

Badia a Passignano takes its name from a Vallombrosan abbey dating to the tenth century, and the Antinori family has produced wine from its surrounding vineyards since acquiring the estate in 1987. Located in the western sector of San Donato in Poggio, at the heart of Chianti Classico, the roughly sixty-five-hectare property has carried the Gran Selezione designation since 2013, having previously been labeled Riserva. The wine still ages in the historic cellars beneath the abbey itself, a detail that ties the modern bottling directly to its medieval origins.

Badia a Passignano is made entirely from Sangiovese grown on the estate's namesake vineyard, at roughly 300 meters above sea level on limestone soils with a fair amount of clay. The grapes come from a single site rather than a blend of parcels, giving the wine a strong sense of place that carries through each vintage.

The 2020 shows a deep, saturated magenta-ruby color, with aromas of fresh leather, black cherry liqueur, vanilla, licorice, and forest floor. Full bodied yet elegant, it carries ripe, well-integrated tannins into a long, saline finish touched with black tea. Serve it with bistecca alla fiorentina, wild boar stew, or aged sheep's cheese.