Wine of the week: an epic Selvapiana with bravado and panache

2016 Chianti Rufina, Vigneto Erchi, Fattoria Selvapiana, Tuscany, Italy

published 30 August 2019

Every so often I get a tip off from a fellow wine scribe about a wine I ought to have a go at. Of course, this only works when one’s pal knows the precise shape of my own palate and the Olympian standards that I adhere to in my carefully chosen recommendations. There are only a handful of people, globally, who fit the bill as critic for this critic and one of these talented tasters is Jane Parkinson – the wine expert on the BBC’s Saturday Kitchen. Jane found this debut vintage of Vigneto Erchi before me and made a fuss about it on Instagram. As a life-long Selvapiana fan (this is the fourth mention for this elite estate in MoneyWeek since my debut in 2006), I called in a sample without delay.

What a wine! Made by the greatest producer in Chianti’s Rufina zone, this is a richer wine than many of the breezy, slender reds made by this property and this is because it comes from a south-facing vineyard that soaks up the sun’s rays while maintaining vital freshness on its finish, thanks to the elevated Rufina topography. With a 10% French oak addition to the traditional large botti format recipe, this is a wine with a large slice of panache on top of its indisputable leagues of flair.