2018 - Chianti Classico Ipsus Gran Selezione, Caggio

Creamy tannins alongside supple redcurrant and cherry fruits, with tobacco leaf and crushed roses on the finish. Just crunchy enough to be mouthwatering, this captures the moreish drinkability of Sangiovese, coupled with a delicious sense of energy and balance. So good. Vines are southeast facing, located a few kilometres from Mazzei's Castello di Fonterutoli village in the commune of Il Caggio. Giovanni Mazzei owner and winemaker. Vinified in stainless steel, native yeast fermentation, aged in French oak barrels, followed by 14 months in bottle before release.

The 2018 Ipsus Chianti Classico Caggio Gran Selezione has more delicate, beauitfully floral aromas such as rose petal, sweet herb and bright red cherry with an almost Pinot Noir-like expessive red fruit on the nose but also distinctive Sangiovese chalkiness. This wine expresses the finer side of Sangiovese in a fresher vintage like 2018. For me there is much greater harmony and balance on this 2018 than in the two previous vintageswith more range and subtle nuance of flavors, while it manages to be unforced and elegant. The weight and texture is great, not huge, but it dances brightly across the palate with some macchia mediterranea wild herb notes. It is easily the best Ipsus so far, and drinking beautifully now even though it is still young.

Hitting the market now, the Caggio 2018 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Ipsus unfolds slowly in the glass to reveal dark fruit, cassis, spice, cured leather and pressed blue flowers. There is a touch of something exotic like a bay leaf or a hint of toasted cumin. The finish is silky and very smooth, and this wine is longer in terms of mouthfeel and more finely polished compared to the 2016 vintage that I tasted at the same time. Compared to 2016, this 2018 edition is aged for a slightly shorter time in tonneaux. It sees two months less of oak and a bit more time in cement vat. Also, the percentage of new wood was reduced from 100% to 80%. Fermentation is spontaneous with no added yeasts and submerged cap.

The 2018 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Ipsus remains light and also a bit austere, although I note it is gradually emerging from its shell. There's quite a bit of nervous tension that remains, and that I think it will always be part of the wine's personality. I have tasted the 2018 numerous times and it has always been rather severe in its contours.

Lots of rain in September. They started aging the wine in ceramic vessels with this vintage – less extraction too. 22 months in tonneaux (80% new) and 15-hl barrels, 8 months in ceramic, then 14 months in bottle before release. TA 6.1 g/l, pH 3.41. Broad and autumnal on the nose. Very soft tannins and still delicate. Lightly animal with the flavours still integrating. Energetic and a hint of smoke. Long. (JR)