Chianti Classico is the denomination with the highest number of award-winning wines in Tuscany with the Tre Bicchieri 2025. It is also the region’s most dynamic and forward-looking category. We see, vintage after vintage, growth in the Gran Selezione category, which certainly gives us pause for thought. Chianti Classico winemakers now also have the Additional Geographic Units available to communicate their adherence to the terroir, with a trend toward even deeper mentions of the vineyard. These are important choices that the market receives and rewards.
Alongside the diversity of soils and microclimates, what makes Tuscany a unique region is the extraordinary variety of styles, the enterprise, and the desire of its producers to innovate. From the Apuan Alps to the Apennine hills, from the Maremma coast to Bolgheri and up to the Chianti Classico hills, there is much to choose from.
The wines listed below belong to Chianti Classico, specifically Gran Selezione. A Chianti of this type has also been included in the Rare Wine List, a completely new section you’ll find in the Gambero Rosso 2025 Vini d’Italia guide, also the cover story of the November issue of Gambero Rosso magazine. This is the Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Bragantino ’19 from Monteraponi.
The Chianti Classico Gran Selezione, produced from a single vineyard or a selection of the best estate-grown grapes, must be made from Sangiovese grapes (min. 90%), with a maximum of 10% from other indigenous red grape varieties. It is aged for at least 30 months, including 3 months in the bottle. The Additional Geographic Unit may be mentioned on the label, and the wine must exhibit excellent organoleptic qualities.
Tenuta di Lilliano
The best Chianti Classico Gran Selezione wines awarded Tre Bicchieri
Here are the 11 best Chianti Classico Gran Selezione wines that received the highest recognition, Tre Bicchieri, in the Gambero Rosso 2025 Vini d’Italia guide.
The citrus aromatic touches that make the lush, fruity, and spicy core of the Chianti Classico Gran Selezione '21 from Tenuta di Lilliano fragrant are beautiful. On the palate, the wine combines flavour, density, length, and rhythm, proving impeccable. Tenuta di Lilliano, located in the Castellina in Chianti UGA and owned by the Ruspoli family, draws inspiration from figures like Enzo Morganti and Giulio Gambelli, who shaped Chianti Classico's history. Today, its production incorporates modern elements without losing its Chianti identity. The result is a range of wines characterised by lush fruitiness and a balanced use of both small and large barrels, easy to drink yet complex.
The Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Effe 55 '20 from Rocca di Castagnoli Tenute Calì has a refined character, with an airy, almost sculpted aromatic profile that introduces a lively, precise, and articulate palate. A well-defined stylistic direction, privileging the balance and elegance typical of the best Chianti Classico wines. This is the fundamental characteristic of Rocca di Castagnoli wines, located in the Gaiole in Chianti Additional Geographic Unit. The labels are distinguished by a consistent quality over time and often achieve the absolute excellence of the denomination. The Calì family, owners, also manage the Sicilian Graffetta estate and the Maremma vineyards of Poggio Maestrino.
The Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Colledilà '21 from Barone Ricasoli has aromas of freshly ripe red berries, undergrowth, spices, and light toasted touches. On the palate, the wine has depth and dynamism, with incisive and flavourful tannins, an acidic freshness, and sweetness. The Castello di Brolio in the Gaiole in Chianti UGA combines all the essential elements of a great wine venture: history, prestige, family, and the fact that the most famous Tuscan wine was invented here. It has its own Sangiovese clone, the "Brolio," and the zonal identification of its vineyards has identified three different crus – Colledilà, Roncicone, and CeniPrimo – producing three wines that consistently rank among the absolute best of the Gallo Nero denomination.
The aromas of the Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Giovanni Folonari '19 range from mature fruit tones to fresher mint notes, with a spicy base. A satisfying wine on the palate, with a sweet attack followed by a savoury development, creating a beautiful contrast that increases the sip’s dynamism and depth. Nino Folonari, a prominent postwar Italian wine figure, acquired the Chianti estates of Cabreo (1967) and Nozzole (1971) in the town of Greve in Chianti. In 2000, Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari, Nino’s son and grandson, founded Ambrogio e Giovanni Folonari, continuing the family’s entrepreneurial style not only in the Chianti area but also across Tuscany: in Bolgheri (Campo al Mare), Montalcino (La Fuga), and the Maremma (Vigne a Porrona).
Truly exciting, the Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Lapina '20 exhibits aromatic nuances of ripe red fruits, graphite, spices, and smoky hints. On the palate, the sip is solid and juicy, concluding in a rich finish with returning fruity and spicy notes. Owned by the Bolfo family, Vallepicciola straddles the Additional Geographical Units (Uga) of Castelnuovo Berardenga and Vagliagli, having started its winemaking journey in 1999. Today, it remains one of the most ambitious Chianti projects launched in the land of the Black Rooster. The winery was inaugurated in 2016, while the varietal collection is diverse, comprising not only Sangiovese but also several international grape varieties, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay.
The Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Le Bolle '21 displays well-defined and complex aromas, preceding a full, juicy mouthfeel with invigorating freshness and momentum. The wines from Castello Vicchiomaggio, owned by the Matta family, have secured a noteworthy place in the Chianti Classico production landscape. The vineyards, located on the Florentine side of the denomination in the Uga of Greve in Chianti, yield high-quality raw material that is processed in the winery without unnecessary interventions. The result is a comforting consistency in quality, delivered in a range of products that exude character, with a modern stylistic imprint that is never overdone.
The Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Poggiarso '20 presents well-defined aromas, showcasing lush fruit, spices, as well as forest and smoky tones. On the palate, the sip shows momentum and length, with full, flavourful tannins and a crescendoing finish. La Vinicola Toscana, whose majority ownership belongs to the Swiss Schuler family, manages a multi-faceted business that includes hospitality, olive oil production, Cinta Senese pig farming, beekeeping, and wine production. In recent years, Castello di Meleto has embarked on a promising qualitative journey, especially with the top labels in its product portfolio, which can be counted among the finest created in the Uga of Gaiole in Chianti, renowned for aromatic depth and gustatory freshness.
The Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Sergio Zingarelli '20 flaunts a refined and well-defined silhouette, with aromas of small red fruits, violets, spices, and smoky touches. On the palate, the sip blends the sweetness of the fruit with a precise acidic edge, with a lovely menthol note on the finish. Rocca delle Macìe today stands as one of the most solid establishments in the Black Rooster territory. Its Chianti properties are threefold (all within the Uga of Castellina in Chianti): the original estates acquired in 1973, Sant'Alfonso and Le Macìe, the latter being the company's headquarters, along with Fizzano, purchased in 1984 and now the centre of the Zingarelli family’s hospitality with a relais and gourmet restaurant. This is alongside the Maremma estates of Campo Maccione, acquired in 1998, and Casa Maria, bought in 2003.
The Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna Istine '21 is distinguished by earthy and smoky aromas that complement its fragrant, floral nose, developing on the palate with vibrancy yet offering a juicy and savoury sip. Istine arrived on the shelves with its first bottles of Chianti Classico in the 2009 vintage. Today, Angela Fronti's project is widely recognised, holding a leading position in the Black Rooster wine scene. It focuses rigorously on its vineyards – two located in the Uga of Radda in Chianti and another in Gaiole – with new challenges at Lamole and Castelnuovo Berardenga. Meanwhile, the company’s wines continue to shine for their stylistic coherence, characterised by aromatic freshness and drinking agility.
The Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Villa Rosa '20 is already highly enjoyable. Its aromas range from notes of small red fruits to earth and flowers. On the palate, the development is lean and articulate, with decisive tannins, vibrant acidity, and a finish that shows contrast, flavour, and depth. The Cecchi brand represents a fundamental presence within the Chianti Classico denomination. The company, based in the Uga of Castellina in Chianti, has, thanks to significant stylistic choices – primarily that of promoting an increasingly pronounced identity through the wines of Villa Cerna and Villa Rosa estates – reached a reassuringly consistent top-tier quality position. This path has also been pursued in Maremma with the Val delle Rose estate.
With fish, you can (also) drink red!
The story of the pharmacist who dispenses prescriptions by day and crafts gourmet burgers by night
It's time for light Prosecco: the lower-alcohol version is the latest innovation in record-breaking bubbles
"Biodynamic preparations ave no effect on viticulture": The shocking conclusions of a Swiss study
Ten last-Minute Christmas gift ideas for a wine nerd
