The sweet, smoky aroma of burning vine cuttings introduces this enticing red. Black cherry and black currant flavors are framed by cedar, pencil shavings, tar and tobacco. It firms up in the end, with beefy tannins and a lingering savory finish. Sangiovese. Best from 2022 through 2035

Chianti Rufina DOCG is the smallest of the seven subzones of the Chianti DOCG. It is located at the foot of the Apennines, the mountain range that is the backbone of Italy, where vineyards are grown at elevations as high as 1600 feet, which means cooler temperatures than at lower elevations.  The growing season is longer, and temperatures can be much cooler at night resulting in conditions that can provide more time for those finicky grapes to ripen while retaining acidity for balance.  The owner, Francesco Giuntini Antinori, considers this single variety Sangiovese their flagship wine made only in the best vintages.  It is an elegant wine with pure, focused, ripe fruit with light ruby, red cherry, strawberry aromas and flavors laced with notes of dried, woody herbs.  The integration of fruit, crisp acidity and fine grained tannins is seamless.  It has an elegant personality.

This is a deliciously decadent Chianti Rufina with aromas and flavors of berries, cherries, wet leaves and coffee. Full body, chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. Drink now or hold.

The 2016 Chianti Rufina Vigneto Bucerchiale is a dark, brooding wine. Swaths of tannin make a first impression. Gradually, black cherry, plum, lavender, cloves, leather and menthol start to emerge. This potent, massively tannic Chianti Rufina is going to need a number of years to come around. There is plenty of depth, but the elements are totally put together. The 2016 finishes with tremendous substance and gravitas. I expect the 2016 will always remain a brute.

The 2016 Chianti Rùfina Vigneto Bucerchiale is a real standout. 
A wine of vertical explosiveness and energy, the 2016 Bucerchiale is deep, wonderfully defined and full of nuance. Macerated cherry, kirsch, sweet tobacco, licorice, menthol, chocolate and spice abound in this super-expressive, nuanced Chianti Rùfina. Expressive savory notes add the closing shades of nuance.
This is a such a gorgeous and complete wine.

This has aromas of wild raspberries, plums, almond blossom, sandalwood, clay and green olives on the nose. Medium-bodied with fine, creamy tannins. Supple and transparent. Very fine. Even better from 2024.

The newest wine in the Selvapiana lineup. When Selvapiana’s owners, the Giuntini family, purchased this land in 1999, it was the first purchase they had made since 1897. 2016 is the first release from this vineyard. On the nose, this wine is complex but tight, showing savory mineral notes that combine with concentrated red cherry, spicy oak and woodsy herbal hints.  After that tight nose, the wine seems surprisingly rich in flavor when it enters your mouth, all dark berry fruit but in a truly dry wine, not at all the sort of rich, fruity flavor many wine drinkers might be accustomed to. The wine has high acidity and an abundant amount of velvety tannin, but not enough tannin to overwhelm that fruit.  Again, there’s balance happening here between the aromatics and the structure. 

In 1998, the Giuntini family purchased a new property in the Chianti Rufina wine region.  In 1999 they planted six hectares (14.8 acres) of Sangiovese cuttings from grapevines selected from their Bucerchiale vineyard, as well as other indigenous vines and olive trees.  The vineyard, like all Selvapiana vineyards, is farmed organically.  The wine is made solely from Sangiovese, fermented with indigenous yeasts, aged in French oak barriques for 18 months and spends one year in bottle before release.  It is an impressive wine with aromas of red cherries, dried woody herbs, blood orange and a touch of vanilla that pave the way for vivid flavors of red cherries, red currant, with notes of pipe tobacco and a whiff of dried mushroom. The ripeness of the fruit is balanced with zesty acidity and dusty tannins.