Across different vintages and a denomination growing in awareness, Chianti Classico at the 2026 Collection reveals wines that are increasingly elegant and drinkable.
At the Chianti Classico Collection 2026, the visual impact is immediate. An impressive sea of bottles, endless rows of labels, producers arriving from across the entire territory of the Black Rooster appellation. A true “Frecciarossa” train of wines, as Antonio Paolini describes it, an image that perfectly conveys the scale this event has reached.
The organization, as imposing as ever, accompanies a tasting that feels almost like a journey through time: multiple vintages, different interpretations, Chianti Classico, Riserva, and Gran Selezione. Each producer often presents more than one wine, sometimes from different vintages, offering a remarkably rich snapshot of the denomination.
According to Paolini, the first look at the vintages presented offers a very interesting picture of the moment Chianti Classico is currently experiencing.
“The 2024 vintage is one that somehow brings us back home,” he explains. “It brings back memories of wines with a finer, more delicate texture—more elegant, fresher wines that make you want to take the bottles home with you more easily.”
In other words, a return to the idea of drinkability. A concept that has regained importance in recent years in the wine conversation, partly as a reaction to seasons marked by extreme heat and by more muscular wines.
“It’s exactly that idea of drinkability that everyone is pursuing today,” Paolini continues, “and that perhaps we have been missing after years of powerful wines and very hot vintages.”
The 2023 vintage tells a different story, shaped by high temperatures. Yet this is precisely where one of the most interesting aspects of contemporary Chianti Classico emerges: the growing awareness among producers.
“The 2023 vintage shows how much producers have improved in managing difficult conditions,” Paolini notes. “They handled a challenging year well, just as they have been able to interpret 2024, which instead brings greater balance and harmony.”
The overall result is a denomination that continues to evolve, both in terms of quality and stylistic awareness. Chianti Classico today seems increasingly capable of expressing a recognizable identity—a true territorial “sound.”
“Chianti Classico continues to grow,” Paolini observes. “And even the new estates entering the denomination—often international investors—are bringing resources and vision that help the territory develop further.”
In this context, the 2024 vintage appears as a year with a broad, welcoming smile. A vintage capable of restoring enthusiasm and immediacy in the glass.
“It’s a vintage with an easier smile,” Paolini concludes. “And at this moment we need it: it helps bring people back to drinking good, honest wine, especially at a time when wine has to face many unfriendly siren calls along the road.”
At Chianti Classico Collection, therefore, we are not only celebrating a historic denomination. We are also witnessing a moment of evolution, where elegance, freshness, and drinkability are returning to the center of the wine narrative. A return “home” that could well represent one of the keys to the future of Chianti Classico.
