Monteraponi Chianti Classico 2022

Monteraponi is one of the defining traditional estates of Radda in Chianti, run by Michele Braganti from a medieval hilltop property that has become a benchmark for old school Chianti Classico. The estate sits at roughly 470 meters elevation in one of the coolest and highest parts of the appellation, where limestone, marl, and galestro soils naturally produce wines with tension, perfume, and structure rather than richness. Braganti took over the family property in the 2000s and quickly became known for resisting the internationalized style that once dominated Tuscany, instead focusing on organic farming, large cask aging, spontaneous fermentations, and transparency to site. Monteraponi is now widely regarded alongside producers like Montevertine and Riecine as part of the revival of classical Chianti Classico.

The Chianti Classico 2022 is built primarily from sangiovese with a small amount of canaiolo, sourced from organically farmed vineyards surrounding the estate. In Radda, sangiovese tends to show more lifted aromatics, sharper acidity, and stonier minerality than in warmer southern parts of Chianti Classico, and Monteraponi leans fully into that identity. Even in the warmer 2022 vintage, the elevation of the vineyards preserved freshness and aromatic detail, giving the wine a more restrained and linear profile than many Tuscan reds from the same year.

Winemaking remains deeply traditional. The grapes are hand harvested and fermented spontaneously in cement tanks without temperature control or commercial yeast. Maceration lasts roughly 25 to 30 days on the skins with gentle daily pump overs to slowly extract tannin and structure. The wine then ages for about 16 months in large French and Slavonian oak casks before resting briefly again in cement prior to bottling. The wine is neither fined nor heavily filtered, preserving both texture and aromatic nuance.

The 2022 opens with sour cherry, raspberry, dried violet, orange peel, and Mediterranean herbs layered over graphite, balsamic notes, and crushed stone. There is beautiful tension between fruit and minerality, with the higher elevation giving the wine a lifted, almost cool toned feel despite the warmth of the vintage. The tannins are silky but persistent, and the finish carries that distinctly Radda combination of savory herbs, acidity, and stony precision that makes Monteraponi such a reference point for traditional Chianti Classico.