Tuscany released many excellent wines this year on the market including a perfect 100-point pure merlot – 2011 Masseto Toscana – and the pure sangiovese genius of Bibi Graetz’s 2011 Toscana Testamatta, plus Petrolo’s tiny production pure cabernet sauvignon – 2011 Toscana Campolusso. Some late releases were equally compelling such

Castelvecchio is an up-and-coming winery in San Pancrazio, in the locality of San Casciano in Val di Pesa, within the Chianti DOCG and only a mere 200 meters from the border of the Chianti Classico denomination. Castelvecchio has 73 hectares, of which 30 are vineyards. In their vineyards, the estate

One of the highlights of this year’s Hong Kong VinExpo, the massive wine trade show held every other year in Asia, was a vertical tasting of Italy’s legendary merlot, Masseto. I was the moderator. Most of us know that Masseto is produced on the estate of Ornellaia, on the Tuscany

Just last year, the Consorzio of Chianti Classico introduced its new designation: Gran Selezione. The new designation aims to raise the quality of Chianti Classico through changing a series of standards and creating a new level in the Chianti Classico quality pyramid. The new rules include that grapes must be

The long-awaited Gran Selezione has just come on the US market. For those not already aware, Gran Selezione is the new, highest designation for wines from Chianti Classico. A quick look at the Consorzio’s published regulations reveals two main, additional requirements for Gran Selezione: Grapes must come exclusively from the

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be counting down the top 10 Videos of 2013 on JamesSuckling.com. This ranking is based on number of views I hope you enjoy the series. Starting with number 10, we have the trailer for our “Chianti Classico Diaries” series. Today, the spectacular Chianti Classico

Château Angélus has finally come of age. Their first serious vintage came in 1988, the estate was upgraded to a Premier grand cru classé (B) in 1996, in 2012 to a Premier grand cru classé (A) – a new “First Growth” for Saint-Émilion – and the 2010 is their best wine ever (click here

If you watched one of our most recent videos, “Gagliole: From Banker To Winemaker” you’ll know all about Thomas Baer. Previously chairman of Julius Baer bank, Thomas left his life in finance to make wine in Tuscany, buying a small estate called Gagliole in Chianti Classico. Last week Thomas and

The winner of the JamesSuckling.com 2013 Harvest Video Competition is Pessac-Leognan’s Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte. It’s not spectacularly produced like some of our other entries this year, but it’s by far the most informative and rigorous in what concerns the 2013 vintage in Bordeaux. Owner Daniel Cathiard and technical director