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Chianti Classico  - a call for sub-zoning

2/8/2014

4 Comments

 
written by Walter Speller, www.jancisrobinson.com
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Last year while tasting the Latest vintage of Chianti Classico at the annual en primeur tasting organised by the Consorzio of Chianti Classico, I was struck by the bold printing on each of the press releases handed out for me. It said:

The Consorzio of Chianti Classico 'counts on the professionalism of the press … to insure [sic] that the name of the "Chianti Classico" not be modified or shortened. Substituting "Chianti Classico" with "Chianti" means radically changing the information [sic] which we are communicating.'

At the time, I felt like the Consorzio was holding journalists accountable for the fact that they didn’t make a clear enough distinction between Chianti, a huge area that also encompasses the Chianti Classico region, and Chianti Classico. Identical to the far more superior Chianti Classico, and for reasons that can only be political, Chianti was awarded the highest designation of quality wines in Italy, the DOCG, although it needs to comply with much less stringent production rules.

For years it has been a battle, also experienced by me, to make wine lovers understand the stylistics and qualitative difference between the two. For me they are very obvious, but I admit that also I failed.

It is not as if producers turning out stunning wines under the Chianti Classico designation, have not done their fair share of the work. It is especially them we have to thank for a style of wine, which is really distinct from the other two regions that use the same grape variety, Sangiovese, as the main vehicle to transcend terroir into the glass: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Brunello di Montalcino.

Although it would have been easier, as well as more profitable, to label their fine expressions simply as IGT Toscana (or Indicazione Geografica tipica, but in actual fact a mere vin de pays or land wine designation allowing only for the crudest of geographic provenance), they couldn’t but label their wines as Chianti Classico, the region of origin of these complex wines. They couldn’t forsake it because they felt the region itself gave them, and us, these special wines, which they wanted the world to know by its proper name, instead of some anonymous IGT. Great wine has provenance, it comes from a precise location, and one, which gives it its unique character. This uniqueness is exactly what gets wine lovers excited.

But to let the world know of this special and unique place, and to share deeper knowledge of its intricate terroir, Chianti Classico is hindered time and again by the fact that these classic hills are seen as identical to the generic Chianti, causing for confusion and low expectations from the side of the wine lover, especially regarding quality and complexity in the wines. Yet nothing could be further from the truth.

The Consorzio, in its long history, has always courageously carried the Chianti Classico banner throughout the world, promoting untiringly the black rooster symbol as a distinct point of difference, and something wine lovers should look out for. But the approach has failed, evidenced by almost every producer of fine Chianti Classico, who reports time and again, that in his or her encounter with wine lovers they endlessly had to repeat the explanation: that Chianti Classico is different from Chianti proper. But the explanation just doesn’t stick.

The solution is not yet another marketing strategy, which continues on the same road, but to create a truly recognizable point of difference, based on the unique and different styles between the villages within the Chianti Classico region, and label the wine accordingly. This approach, while logical in itself, has always received lukewarm response from within the region, with the argument that soil compositions are too complex an diverse and that the hills offer too many different expositions and altitude, which have a crucial impact on the final wines, to neatly corral them in such simplistic system.  But it is exactly this kind of complexity, which gets wine lovers in awe about how many different expressions of the same indigenous grape exist in a single region. So why not try and cut it down into logical portions?

Chianti Classico can get its cue from Cotes-du-Rhone Villages, which would provide the perfect structure to make the necessary, complex terroir research manageable: by dividing Chianti Classico into subzones based on the main villages (and something that unofficially has been the conventional way of talking about the region), and allowing their names to be printed prominently on the label.

Insisting that it is impossible, is ignoring the fact that each producer has detailed knowledge of his or her terroirs. It also ignores that wine professionals and wine lovers are already referring to Chianti Classico as “Gaiole”, Panzano, or “Lamole” to indicate location and style of a certain wine. Lots of research, notably collected by the Consorzio of Chianti Classico itself since the 1980s in a project called Chianti Classico 2000, is available too. And Italy’s expert by far on mapping regions based on soil composition, altitude and grape varieties, Alessandro Masnaghetti, has already made big inroads with maps of Panzano, Gaiole-in-Chianti, Castellina-in-Chianti and Radda-in-Chianti. We need more detail, not less, to explain the uniqueness of the Chianti Classico wines - based on provenance. Any other approach has proved to be ineffective.

We want this work, because that’s what it is and we wouldn’t want to hide that fact, to be shared with as many people as possible. The first port-of-call are the producers themselves, who possess a wealth of information on the specifics of their vineyards with regard to soil composition, varieties planted, exposure and altitude, and which we hope they are willing to share with anyone who is interested. This website aims at making this knowledge available in order to come to a finer distinction between subzones. And in doing so giving us proper tools to explain what Chianti Classico is about and, crucially, what makes it special. It is origin that makes any great wine unique. There is no arguing about it, so why downplay it?
4 Comments
Daniele link
2/8/2014 07:35:35 am

As a Chianti Classico producer, I have to thank you so much for your article. I completely agree with the author because it reports exactly what we are living every day.
I take part of the producers asking for a sub-zoning and we have submitted this matter for long time. A division of the production area seems very easy to divide in logical portions like they did for Cotes-du-Rhone wines. Actually I think that the big difference between Cotes-du-Rhone and Chianti Classico is: French people wanted to do it, and they did it; Italian people wanted to do, and are still talking about... This is for a lot of reasons, not hard to guess them. In the meantime, we continue our daily mission explaining to wine livers the difference between Chianti and Chianti Classico, what the black rooster means, the characteristics of the terroir in the several areas of Chianti Classico, and so on.
We hope to have our sub-zoning as soon as possible, because this is the only way to help the consumer and improve the knowledgement of our area and our wines.

Reply
cristiano castagno
2/9/2014 02:33:13 am

I would tend to agree that sub-zoning in Chianti Classico would add interest at least for the more sophisticated wine-lover however I am also of the opinion that the matter needs to be examined deeper in order to take into account possible side-effects on the appellation. I believe that if one uses one's influence and credibility to promote such a thing as sub-zones in Chianti as is the aim of this website one is necessarily is taking on serious responsibility and this should not be taken too lightly!
Chianti Classico or rather Chianti as a wine develops at the beginning of the 20th Century not as a wine of terroir as some are brought to believe but as a type of table wine crafted for the domestic and export market. This I would describe as the "original sin" of the appellation and the reason that Chianti is today associated to the whole of central Tuscany, when the original geographic area of Chianti is tiny in comparison. Chianti was, and still is in some respects at least in part, essentially a "brand" in the hands of a number of powerful négociants that trade the wine as a sort of commodity on the global market. These players today own also consistent amounts of vineyards, nevertheless it should not be ignored that the cost of these are essentially supported by their commercial venture and not vice-versa. This is a key detail that must be kept in mind. The cost of producing wine is vastly higher than the market price of bulk Chianti Classico especially in a recessive market as that of today.
Certainly in more recent years there have been a growing number of small and not too small "grower" producers that on the other hand are basing their activity on selling what they produce firsthand, supporting the full production costs and selling their wine at premium prices on the global market. This is not to say that some might not buy part of what they sell nevertheless theirs is a prevalently agricultural venture. This is another key element to be kept in mind.
Chianti and Chianti Classico has developed in the decades from a type of wine (and until recently this was expressed by what was called "tipicità" that is a rather different, yet confusingly similar concept from that of teroir,) to a wine of "terroir", although not yet completely. Chianti often paradoxically managed to retain tipicità even though it sometimes contained, quite legally,significant amounts of must from the south of Italy as was possible until as recently as 1984. Often more tipicità could be found in these wines than those produced in the more recent past due to the obliterating use of international varietals, albeit grown locally, and the swamping effect of new oak, but these wines luckily seem to be falling out of favour. The next development, that sub-zoning would undoubtedly promote would involve the production of "real terroir wines" especially now that the market is beginning essentially to understand and accept Sangiovese for what it is. Concluding and having said the above, it would be fair to say that the situation today is statrting to be mature for sub-zoning in Chianti Classico.

So where would the problems lie, you must be asking yourself ?
In normal circumstances Chianti Classico, besides the wholesale or retail of bottled product side of the business is also traded on a bulk market.The price is very variable essentially determined by the particular moment, sometimes it can rise significantly and put the nègociants into a position in which it is very difficult for them to respect contracts with their clients, other moments sees Chianti Classico bulk prices plummet significantly below cost price. It would be fair to say that if this mechanism were to work the market would have a self regulatory quality about it in which growers and nègociants would take in turn moments favourable now for one side, now for the other. Unfortunately this system worked reasonably well until some years ago, (like Italy's economy), when something went terribly wrong: bulk wines even at very low prices have not been able to clear unsold stocks and this has caused the consequent accumulation of vintages and consistent low prices, hence today's problem.The denomination is stuck in a slump of unsold excess production.
It is obvious that due to the volatility of prices on the bulk market there has always been a certain friction between the rècoltants (or producers of bulk wine) and nègociants (buyers and bottlers of the latters' produce). I must add that of course there are producers (small or large) that simply bottle their own produce and are not effected directly by the volatility of bulk market prices of Chianti Classico but have to compete on the wholesale bottled Chianti Classico market with nègociants that bottle "their" Chianti Clasico having bought it at a vastly undercost price. The wines of rècoltants and nègociants carry exactly the same "gallo nero" emblem

Reply
Michael
2/9/2014 02:55:22 am

Cristiano, thank you for your considerate comment. You have outlined many of the challenges we will face as we move this discussion forward. We certainly do represent the quality minded producers who are driven by the desire to express Sangiovese in their individual terriors within the region.

The promotion of sub-zones and this website will only work with the collaboration of many like minded producers, let us hope we can work together and make the right decisions otherwise we will see another mass exodus of high quality producers leave the denomination as they did before 100% Sangiovese Chianti Classico were a possibility.

Reply
cristiano castagno
2/9/2014 02:59:28 am

(continues from above) part 2-
The wines of rècoltants and nègociants carry exactly the same "gallo nero" emblem and are undistinguishable to the average consumer once these bottles are stocked side by side on a shelf in a wine shop, same gallo, but accompanied by apparently unjustifiably different price tags.There are times when nègociants can sell the wine they bought undercost at an unnaturally low price on the wholesale bottled wine market and still make a hefty profit. It is hardly surprising that this consequent commoditization of Chianti Classico causes an identity problem for the whole of the denomination. All this foul play, (and naturally the opposite happens when the price of bulk wine periodically rises consistently,putting the nègociants in serious difficulty,but this in recent times simply has not been happening) is the cost of having a "free market" but is no longer sustainable now that the cylclic volatility has been blocked by the enduring global (and even more severe Italian) recession.
Now, to propose the plain implementation of sub-zones thinking that just this in itself can solve the identity crisis of Chianti Classico is in my opinion simplistic, and other questions arise. Should bulk wine be traded on the Chianti Classico market and tagged with their sub-zone of origin ? In other words are the sub-zones to be tradable on the bulk market? I am of the opinion that if so, this will put the rècoltants situated in the less prestigious sub-zones, but not only them, in a very difficult position when in a recessive market some speculator nègociant starts selling the most fashionable and prestigious sub-zone appellation of the moment at bargain prices having bough the relative bulk Chianti Classico undercost.This would amplify todays problems rather than solve them.
I am convinced that this incredible diversity offered by the territory should be expressed with subzones on labels and that these should indeed be tradable on the bulk market but at the same time it is necessary to be able to distinguish at a glance if the bottle of Chianti Classico we are about to buy has been bottled by a rècoltant at origin, by a nègociant (or by a cantina sociale that is the third possibility).There are something like 386 different producers of bottled Chianti Classico and each deserves to be correctly presented.There are artisan wines,-that are not necessarily better than those of a large producer's wine, but certainly different-and these need to be differentiated visually with appropriate labelling. Surely, to draw a comparison, hand sewn shoes are able to command substancially higher prices than factory sewn ones, because among other things they are more expensive to produce, even if they are not necessarily better from a rational point of view, but need to be presented as such to sell and fit into an appreciative niche market, otherwise simply there is no reason for them to exist. The same is true for certain artisan wines of Chianti Classico and there certainly is a market for artisan wines in the world today.
In France rècoltant wines are distinguishable from nègociant wines from their capsule in Chianti Classico if sub-zones are to be introduced the wines of the "viticoltori" produttori (prevalence of agricultural revenue) should be immediately distinguishable from those of the "industriali" (prevalence of commercial revenue)for instance with a different gallo. It might seem like a small detail but an essential one at least as important as the sub-zones themselves otherwise in the not so distant future this huge variety of different producers is bound to be drastically reduced in number and this would be a great loss for the whole appellation of Chianti Classico.
Thank you for reading.
Cristiano Castagno /winemaker and director of Fattoria Ispoli, small organic Chianti Classico producer-S.Casciano V.P. (Fi)







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The historical area of Chianti Classico is made of nine zones and multiple sub-zones which cover over 70,000 hectares of territory of which 10,000 hectares are planted to vine. The purpose of creating this site is to have a destination dedicated to promoting the regional identities of each separate and unique sub-zone. This will strengthen the denomination as a whole, stimulate interest in learning and appreciating the differences among the particular sub-regions, as in Burgundy or in the Comunes of Barolo and Barbaresco. There will be more debate, and more meaningful research into what makes each region individual, and perhaps this will eventually inspire individual producers to embrace the wine styles that support the strengths of their individual sub-region.

L'area storica del Chianti Classico comprende nove comuni e diverse sotto-zone, coprendo oltre 70.000 ettari del territorio di cui 10.000 ettari sono superficie vitate. L'inziativa della creazione di questo sito è quella di stabilire una destinazione dedicata a promuovere le identità regionali di ciascuna sottozona distinta e unica. Questo rafforzerà la denominazione, stimolarerà l'interesse e apprezzarerà le differenze tra le particolari sub-regioni, come in Borgogna o nei comuni di Barolo e Barbaresco. Ci sarà più dibattito e più ricerca sul carattere di ogni regione, e forse finirà per dare una spinta ai produttori ad abbracciare uno stile di vino che supporta i punti di forza della loro sub-regione individuale.