Angela Fronti is among the young producers who have brought a new feeling of energy to Chianti Classico. Fronti has built an impressive collection of wines in a relatively short period of time. “We had a very long summer in 2022,” Fronti explained. “The August rain was helpful, as fruit had stopped ripening in some places, such as higher elevations in Radda. We started picking a touch earlier than normal under a little bit of rain and wrapped up on October 10, more or less in line with recent historical norms. Our approach was to pick micro-blocks across all our sites based on ripeness, rather than by one vineyard at a time, which is our more standard practice.” Vintage 2023 presented a different set of challenges. Rain and disease pressure were constants in the spring. Summer turned extremely hot. “Drought in August concentrated the fruit. Paradoxically it was easier to make more important wines in 2023, but harder for the Annatas, which are on the richer side. Our production is down 40-50% depending on the wine,” Fronti added. There are now five Gran Seleziones in the range, including two new bottlings: the Mezzapiaggia from Vagliagli and the Elle from Lamole. The Cavarchione, Vigna Istine and Casanova dell’Aia Gran Seleziones spend 15 months in cask. Two new Gran Seleziones are smaller productions. There is a single 20HL cask of the Mezzapiaggia and just one tonneau and one barrique of the Elle. Readers should note the Mezzapiaggia was not bottled in 2023.