🍷 Riserva Ducale Oro 2021

Riserva Ducale Oro 2021 is a red DOCG Chianti Classico Gran Selezione wine from the 2021 harvest by Ruffino of Pontassieve.

According to the house, the grape varieties are Sangiovese (80 %), Merlot (10 %), Cabernet Sauvignon (5 %) and Colorino (5 %); the wine is aged for 30 months in all: 12 months for the Sangiovese in large Slavonian oak casks and for the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in barriques and tonneaux, then the blend matures in concrete and at least 3 months in bottle; the grapes come from the Ruffino estates of Gretole and Santedame in Castellina in Chianti, at 300–450 m on soils rich in shale and limestone.

Ruffino is a Tuscan wine company founded in 1877 by cousins Ilario and Leopoldo Ruffino in Pontassieve near Florence; known for Riserva Ducale Chianti Classico, with estates across Tuscany.

Chianti Classico is a controlled and guaranteed designation of origin (DOCG; in EU terms a PDO) from the centre of Tuscany, in the provinces of Florence and Siena; its boundaries were set by the Interministerial Decree of 31 July 1932. The main variety is Sangiovese. The area is hill country at 200–600 m with galestro shale, scaly clay, calcareous sandstone and alberese; the climate is continental, with about 850 mm of rain a year. According to the description of the link with the area, the name Chianti for the local wine first appears in a notarial deed of 1398; in 1716 a proclamation by Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, first defined the boundaries of a wine area; producers founded a consortium in 1924, the oldest zone gained the right to the word «Classico» in 1932, and in 1996 Chianti Classico received its own rules, separate from Chianti.

The Gran Selezione term is the top of the Chianti Classico range: the grapes must come only from vineyards operated by the bottler, the wine may not be enriched with external products, and under the 2023 amendment it must contain 90–100 % Sangiovese and up to 10 % native varieties (Colorino, Canaiolo, Ciliegiolo, Mammolo, Pugnitello, Malvasia Nera, Foglia Tonda, Sanforte). The label may name one of 11 additional geographical units, such as Castellina, Gaiole or Radda; the reasons for the 2023 amendment speak of ageing for a full 30 months.

Under the DOCG Chianti Classico rules, the yield is limited to 7,500 kg of grapes and 52.5 hl of wine per hectare; the total alcoholic strength is at least 12 % (Riserva 12.5 %, Gran Selezione 13 %), and a vintage wine may not be released before 1 October of the year after the harvest. The wine must be bottled within the area (apart from certain long-standing exceptions), and since 2005 every bottle must carry the black rooster image. The traditional training systems are the Guyot «Tuscan arch» and spurred cordon. The designation is a rule of origin and production, not a verdict on taste.

Under EU rules, a wine label must show the designation of origin, the actual alcoholic strength, allergens such as sulphites, and the name of the bottler. A harvest year on the label means the wine is made from grapes of that year.

Why it matters to you. The name on the label tells you where the grapes come from and under which rules the wine was made; in Chianti Classico the harvest dates and ageing change every year, so different years of the same wine are different wines. The WHO reminds: there is no safe level of alcohol. The year on the label is the harvest year.