One of the real joys in wine comes in the form of a great glass of Sangiovese.

Especially when that glass is from the Chambolle-of-Tuscany, Radda. Perched above the rest of the appellation and surrounded by forest, these limestone-driven wines are some of the most elegant and, tbh, some of our favorites. Today we’re highlighting one of our newest and most delicious bottles:

2021 Tenuta di Carleone Chianti Classico DOCG

100% organic Sangiovese hand harvested, foot trodden, and fermented in a mix of steel and cement. With a dash of whole cluster, it’s a bottle that conveys the purest expression of Radda fruit. Super drinkable, yet not lacking in the depth and complexity that you should expect from this place.

 A couple weeks ago we were visited by the ever-elegant, talented Silvio Messana of Montesecondo. He stopped, stared at our Italian shelf and grabbed one bottle: Carleone's Chianti Classico. “I really like what he’s doing. Forward thinking but traditional at once. Really really delicious wines.” High praise from a neighbor and fellow practitioner of Sangiovese.

Tenuta di Carleone is an organic estate of around 100 hectares surrounded by forest, tiny streams, old olive trees and yes – Sangiovese. It's the work of Sean O’Callahan (an Aussie who found his way to Chianti by-way-of German oenology school) and his partner Karl Egger. And they're capturing reverence and beauty here the way outsiders often do: by referencing and honoring tradition. All of his Chianti Classicos are 100% Sangiovese – no international varietals for the DOCG wines – and vinified simply with a mix of whole cluster.

The result is in the glass. But spoiler: it’ll make you think of names like Montevertine, Caparsa and the like; as its piney, red fruited nature is the signature of the best here.

Also from Tenuta di Carleone:

‘Il Guercio’

From the hamlet of Lamole, a bit further north, where Sean and Karl pick an old terraced vineyard for ripeness. From higher elevation, it’s on the lighter end – a peppery, elegant example of acid-driven Chianti.