Region: Chianti Rufina, Tuscany, Italy

Varietal: 100% Sangiovese

Tasting notes: A very pure and beautiful red with cherry and strawberry. Subtle spice, such as nutmeg and cedar. Orange peel, too. Medium to full body. Firm, silky tannins melt nicely into the wine. Fresh and clean finish. A little tight at the end. A beautiful single-vineyard Chianti Rufina with structure. Drinkable now, but better after 2023, when it will have softened a little.

Producer: For a long time, Selvapiana was a summer residence for Florentine bishops. It then belonged to a series of Florentine merchant families including the Scalandroni. Purchased in 1827 by Michele Giuntini Selvapiana, the estate now covers an area of 600 acres, of which 100 are devoted to vineyards and 75 to olive trees. Five generations of the Giuntini family have lived on the estate over the years. The current owner, Francesco Giuntini Antinori, has dedicated a great deal of energy towards restoring the prestige that Chianti Rufina once enjoyed. In recent years, responsibility for running the estate has been taken over by Silvia and Federico Giuntini Masseti.

Vineyard and Winemaking: Bucerchiale is Selvapiana's flagship wine, a Riserva-level Chianti Rùfina crafted from the grapes of the estate's best vineyard, Bucerchiale. Francesco Giuntini, working with young winemaker Franco Bernabei on his second vintage at Selvapiana, created this special wine to be a long-aging benchmark of the best of Rùfina's and Selvapiana's Sangiovese. The wine is not a blend, as is normal with Chianti, but rather is pure Sangiovese to show that variety without any adornment by other blending components. First produced in 1979, Bucerchiale is made in only the best vintages, seven or eight times per decade.