Piemaggio, Chianti Classico “Le Fioraie”

Today’s wine is immensely satisfying on every level—deeply concentrated, pitch-perfect in its varietal expression, smoothly textured after several years of bottle age.Within the realm of Chianti Classico, I’d place it at the fuller end of the style spectrum: It’s approaching Brunello di Montalcino-level concentration, but it is refreshingly free of ‘makeup’ (i.e. wood influence) and all about the full-throated expression of the Sangiovese grape. This is the kind of wine that makes you do a double-take (as opposed to a spit-take) when you see its price. It costs what? Sign me up! Loaded with brambly black cherry fruit and a complementary dose of forest-floor savor, Piemaggio’s “Le Fioraie” is quintessential Tuscan Sangiovese in its peak drinking window. I drink a glass of this and think, yes, this is it. This is what I’m looking for. Not only does it show how age-worthy good Chianti can be, it makes me long to return to Tuscany for a firsthand look!For the moment, however, I’ll have to