Monterodondo Owners Fabiana Giuliani and Saverio Basagni

Wine friends,

It has long been my contention that the best value in top-tier Italian wine is Chianti Classico Riserva.

For under 40 euros, it’s not difficult to find a Chianti Classico Riserva that’s delicious, complex, and cellar-worthy. Meanwhile, in other famous Italian wine regions, like Barolo, Brunello, or Barbaresco, it’s rare to find an interesting bottle for less than 40. 

Within the Chianti Classico geographic zone, you’ll find some of the most celebrated and expensive wines in all of Italy (just google the price for Montevertine’s Pergole Torte). Growing conditions don’t hold back Chianti Classico; instead, history acts as an anchor on prices.

As recently as 20-30 years ago, Chianti was widely known for its mass-produced wine in a fiasco, that round jug wrapped in straw. Tremendous progress has been made in recent years, and Chianti Classico’s reputation for quality has recovered, but the region remains a golden opportunity for savvy wine buyers. 

While it always pays to know the right producers, in Chianti Classico it can really pay to know the right producers. Look no further than our prices today, which are way below 40 euros.

Today’s featured producer, Monterotondo, is a small family-run estate that makes convincing, world-class Chianti Classico and Chianti Classico Riserva.

Monterotondo - 2019 Chianti Classico “Vigna Vaggiolata”

Monterotondo’s 2019 Chianti Classico is an elegant medium-bodied organic red wine made from a single-vineyard in the Gaiole in Chianti commune, Vigna Vaggiolata. It’s a balanced, fresh, succulent Chianti Classico showing notes of violet, red currant, cherry, spice, and cedar. This wine could legally be labeled a Riserva, as it undergoes 24 months of aging before release, but Monterotondo reserves its Riserva label for today’s second wine, Serenita. With this Vigna Vaggiolata, you are essentially getting a Riserva for the price of a regular Chianti Classico.

Monterotondo - 2018 Chianti Classico Riserva Serenita

The Monterotondo 2018 Serenita is a gorgeous fuller-bodied Chianti Classico Riserva with poise, verve, and just the right amount of muscle. While this Riserva will last for 15-20 years in the cellar, the quiet, balanced tannins and fresh acidity make it easy to enjoy at a relatively young age.

The producer’s notes: “Lively crunchy fruit with notes of leather, coffee, tobacco, followed by cinnamon and clove, and finishing with an earthy grip. This wine surprises with a marked savory freshness, all supported by an imposing structure and succulent tannins.”

Open Tuesday’s price for both wines is lower than any current offer in North America.

To order, just click one of the links above and follow the prompts.

The Riserva Serenita blend is 95% Sangiovese and 5% Malvasia Nera. Vigna Vaggiolata is 85% Sangiovese, 10% Canaiolo, and 5% Malvasia Nera.

Monterotondo is part of the Gaiole in Chianti comune, one of nine designated for Chianti Classico DOGC production. The others are San Casciano Val di Pesa, Radda in Chianti, Poggibonsi, Greve in Chianti, Castelnuovo Berardegna, Tavernelle Val di Pesa, Barberino Val d’Elsa, and Castellina in Chianti.

Monterotondo only makes about 18 thousand bottles of wine per year, three thousand of which are Riserva Serenita, and 13 thousand of which are Vigna Vaggiolata.

Here’s Monterotondo on the map of central Italy.

See our social media posts for great photos of the winemakers and their estate: Instagram | Facebook

Food pairing: The Vigna Vaggiolata is highly versatile at the table. It’s great with everything from pizza to spaghetti with meatballs to pork tenderloin. We had Vigna Vaggiolata recently with stir fried sliced eggplant, which worked surprisingly well. For the Riserva Serenita, I’d go with red meat and avoid anything with red sauce if possible. Since the tannins are on the soft side for a Riserva, pork or lamb should be a good match too.

Monterotondo - 2019 Chianti Classico Vigna Vaggiolata

14% ABV

Monterotondo - 2018 Chianti Classico Riserva Serenita

14.5% ABV

Happy Tuesday,

Chris

If you have any questions or feedback, please email us: [email protected].  

How it works: 

After clicking one of the links above, you’ll be able to request 1-12 bottles. Actually, that’s all you have to do!

About a week later, when we close the offer, you’ll get an email confirming how many bottles we allocated to your account. We will charge you when the wines are allocated.

We’ll do our best to allocate all the bottles you request. But when there are more requests than bottles available, we’ll allocate one bottle to all requesting members before allocating a second bottle to anyone. We want as many members as possible to try these wines.

This is the 15th offer of our spring 2023 season. 

Through February and March, we are sending offers on Thursday and Sunday, with a recap of the past week’s offers on Tuesday.

We ship in increments of 12. With 18 offers this season, there should be plenty of chances to get to 12, 24, or 36. If you don’t have an increment of 12 at the end of the fall season offers, we can hold your wines until the next offer season – fall 2023.

Wines offered in the spring will ship in April for $5 per bottle (if you have an increment of 12.) This is about the same as the price to ship coast-to-coast within the U.S. – but our wines come directly from Italy.

Once your payment method is on file, you can make future requests with just a few clicks from the offer email. If you don’t have a card on file, you can add one during your first order. Your personal financial information is protected by Stripe.

Chris MacLean

Rob Genova

Open Tuesday Wines S.r.l.s.

Via Augusto Anfossi 19, 20135 Milano - Italy