Wine Advisor
Fontodi, Flaccianello della Pieve 2011
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
The 2011 Flaccianello della Pieve is 100% Sangiovese aged 24 months in new French oak and two months in large oak cask. I’m not sure how Fontodi does it, but this edition of Flaccianello is simply beautiful. It is a seamless expression with lingering tones of red cherry, coffee, spice, truffle and red rose that flow harmoniously into unison. In the mouth, the wine shows great opulence and textural richness that is pushed forward by the stylistic softness of the tannins and the wine’s inner freshness. Pretty menthol tones appear on the finish. Drink: 2015-2030.
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
The 2011 and 2012 vintages are close cousins, with the 2011 Flaccianello della Pieve appearing a bit softer and plumper around the midsection. This was a notoriously warm vintage that saw sugar and phenolic ripeness shoot up very quickly at the end of the growing season. Indeed, this wine produces a noticeable level of sweetness on the finish, all surrounded by jammy flavors of cherry confit and blackberry marmalade. My observation is that this 2011 vintage feels more overtly ripe, whereas the 2012 vintage is able to hide some of its ripeness within the general fleshiness and succulence of the fruit. Giovanni Manetti says that 2011 resulted in some dried berries on the clusters that had to be removed by hand on the sorting table. This problem did not occur in 2012.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2011 Flaccianello della Pieve has come along quite nicely over the last year. The signatures of the unusually warm, dry vintage are very much in evidence in the wine's profile and overall weight. At the same time, the richness and overall unctuousness suggest the 2011 will drink well earlier than some of the surrounding vintages - once it sheds some baby fat.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Violets, crushed flowers, licorice, cloves and menthol wrap around the palate in the 2011 Flaccianello. A soft, seamless wine, the 2011 retains gorgeous freshness within the context of the year. Today, the Flaccianello is more expressive than the Sorbo, but it was also bottled two months earlier. This is another wine with off the charts levels of both polyphenols and acidity.
About the Producer
Fontodi is located in the heart of Chianti Classico precisely in the valley which lies south of the town of Panzano and is called the “Conca d’Oro” (the golden shell) because of its amphitheatre shape. A genuine and characteristc “Terroir”, famous for centuries for its tradition of quality wine cultivation, thanks to a unique combination of high altitude, calcar clayschist soil, lots of light, and a fantastic micro-climate – warm and dry with a marked difference in day and night-time temperatures. All Fontodi wines are produced from grapes coming from their own vineyards, picked by hand, chosen with care and vinified in a way that exalts the character of the vines and the territory. The Fontodi Oil “Bio” is produced from its own olives which are delicately pressed the same day as the harvest in order to preserve all the freshness and the fragrance of the fruit.
