Barone Ricasoli Chianti Classico Gran Selezione CeniPrimo 2019 (750ML)

99 JS / 96 WA / 95+ JD / 95 WI / 93 VM

This has an intensely perfumed nose of lavender, sandalwood, dried cherries, blueberries, creme de cassis, bay leaves, walnuts and stones. Full-bodied with polished, well-integrated tannins and a layered, silky and concentrated core of spiced and herbed fruit. Long. Intense. Fantastic already, but try in 2024.-James Suckling

Barone Ricasoli has successful brought out the individual character of each of its Gran Selezione wines. This sample sees fruit from sandy and silty soils in the Val d'Arbia at lower elevations (ranging from 280 to 300 meters above sea level). The 2019 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Castello di Brolio CeniPrimo is a wine of structure and concentration with generous layers of dark fruit, spice, earth and candied cherry. CeniPrimo focuses on dark fruit and texture.-Monica Larner, Wine Advocate

The 2019 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione CeniPrimo is incredible in its undulating aromatics of ripe yet pure cherry liqueur, delicate baking spice, and wooded earth. There is a luxurious sheen without feeling oaky, and it complements the wine in all the right ways. The palate is medium-bodied and refined, with fine tannins and an airy feel. It doesn’t have a lot of mid-palate weight, but it is long through the palate, with a gorgeous soft mineral texture and lingering perfume. Drink 2024-2038.-Audrey Frick, Jeb Dunnuck

The 2019 Ricasoli Chianti Classico Ceniprimo Gran Selezione comes from 6.35 ha of vines planted in 1998 at 300 metres above sea level. Facing south-west, the Ceniprimo vineyard gets the full day's sunlight. There was some bottle variation with this wine but the second bottle was great. It has fresh, cool fruit, with an orange peel, Negroni-like element to the aromas and flavors. On the palate it is elegant and precise with a leaner, more savory feeling. The palate is more angular, linear and structural but very much like classic Sangiovese. It has less fruity charm than the Colledila but instead it has a more assertively characterful, strong personality.-Susan Hulme, Wine Independent

The 2019 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione CeniPrimo is a very pretty wine. Bright and translucent, with terrific energy, the 2019 has so much to offer. Sweet floral notes, kirsch, spice, rose petal and French oak are nicely delineated throughout. I very much like the energy here. The new oak is perhaps a bit strong, but that's a small quibble for a wine that has so much to offer.-Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media