The 2008 Chianti Classico is a cool, inviting wine laced with dark wild cherries, licorice, leather and tobacco, all of which flow gracefully. This mid-weight Chianti Classico is all grace and elegance. Sweet, elegant tannins round out the finish. The Chianti Classico is 95% Sangiovese and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon that spent 12 months in cask. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2028. This is a stunning set of wines from Castello di Rampolla. The 2007s are some of the finest wines I have ever tasted from this reference point winery. Despite all of their success, the Di Napoli family continues to work towards improving quality. The estate has significantly reduced the amount of time the Sammarco and d’Alceo spend in oak to 12 months and dropped new oak levels down to around 1/3rd, while holding the wines back longer in bottle, all decisions that are allowing the fruit from these phenomenal sites to be incredibly expressive and delineated. With the 2009s, some of the wines are fermented in cement. Back to the future? Perhaps, but there is no denying the superb quality of the estate’s top 2007s. These are dazzling wines by any measure. Importer: Vias Imports, New York, NY; tel. (212) 629-0200