Riecine Chianti Classico

There’s no denying that Chianti Classico was “having a moment” in 2025. This once-unfashionable category has reclaimed its crown as one of the world’s most exciting wine terroirs. I often hear peers who in recent years professed undying allegiance to Burgundy or Barolo rank it among their favorite regions in 2026. And to be clear, there are plenty of “impressive” Chianti Classico reds that pander for one’s fealty with dark fruit, sweet oak, and “luxurious” cellar tricks. But I often find my palate leading me in the other direction, toward understated elegance and lift. A perfect example is today’s 2024 Riecine. This wine’s calling card is transparency: healthy fruit, thoughtful farming, ego-less winemaking, and an approach that lets terroir, not the winemaker’s “interpretation” of it, remain the loudest voice in the glass. It’s a Chianti that feels built for my Burgundy-loving palate, approachable in its youth, and wonderfully versatile at the table.

Riecine’s modern story began in the 1970s, when Englishman John Dunkley purchased a neglected hillside farm and became one of the early champions of bottling Chianti Classico from 100% Sangiovese, which was, believe it or not, an uncommon philosophy at the time. Over the following decades, the estate earned a reputation as one of Tuscany’s purest voices for traditional, site-driven Chianti. Today, the property is owned and operated by Tuscan-born winemaker Alessandro Campatelli. Campatelli joined the estate in 2015, assumed responsibility for the wines in 2016, and has further refined Riecine’s elegant, freshness-driven style through organic farming, native fermentations, and an unwavering commitment to transparency over power. In 2024, he purchased the estate himself, becoming both owner and winemaker while continuing the same quiet philosophy that has made Riecine one of Chianti Classico’s benchmark producers.

The Riecine property is located on an unusually windy, cool site in the hills of Gaiole in Chianti, where vineyards between 1,200 and 1,500 feet in elevation enjoy Tuscan sunshine tempered by crisp nighttime temperatures. The fruit is farmed organically and grows in a patchwork of galestro, limestone, and iron-rich Macigno sandstone. This unique terroir delivers vivid red fruit and “full-spectrum” balance while preserving remarkable freshness and lift. The emphasis is not brawn or bombast but delicate perfume, mineral tension, and bright acidity over sheer weight. In the cellar, the philosophy is equally restrained: native-yeast fermentation, a remarkably short (11-day!) maceration, and a brief élevage in large, neutral oak preserve the wine’s vivid red fruit and floral lift rather than layering on tannin or wood. The result is a Chianti Classico that feels unusually graceful, making it an easy bridge for wine drinkers who love the finesse of Burgundian Pinot Noir, the bright herbal freshness of cool-vintage Southern Rhône Grenache, or the savory crunch of Loire Valley Cabernet Franc. It’s the kind of wine that slips effortlessly onto a Tuesday-night table, equally at home beside grilled salmon, roasted mushrooms, lentils, tomato-based pastas, or herb-roasted vegetables as it is with more rustic Tuscan dishes.

The 2024 Riecine Chianti Classico pours a luminous, transparent ruby with garnet highlights, appearing ever so slightly paler and less concentrated than many of its regional peers—a visual hint of the freshness and finesse to come. Served at 60–62°F in a large Burgundy stem, the wine opens with beautifully lifted aromas of mountain berries, sour cherry, wild strawberry, blood orange, violets, fresh thyme, and crushed chalk, all enhanced by the elegance and aromatic purity preserved through its relatively short maceration. On the palate, this is an unusually graceful expression of Chianti Classico, with vibrant acidity, silky tannins, and moderate body replacing the dense extraction and muscular structure that define so many acclaimed examples from the appellation. The finish is long, floral, and remarkably pretty, lingering with notes of red fruit, dried herbs, and fine mineral tension. I encourage you to air it with chicken thighs saltimbocca. While Chianti Classico isn’t typically thought of as a great chicken wine, despite the legally required black rooster on every bottle’s neck, Riecine’s freshness, gentle grip, and savory herbal character make it a superb partner for the sweet richness of the chicken and the salty interplay of cured pork and sage.