Chianti Classico, the next “blue chip” for those who invest in fine wines (or want to drink well)

For years, and we too have been writing about this for some time, in the daily chronicles as well as in the territorial monographs of “I Quaderni di WineNews” (emblematic is the title of the latest issue of May 2024, “Chianti Classico? A really good wine”), Chianti Classico is considered one of the most healthy territories in Italian and world wine. Thanks to the work of so many wineries and of the Consortium - which already with the “Chianti Classico 2000” project, thanks to more than 15 years of study work, has led to the renewal of viticulture in the Chianti Classico production area, “through a study of agronomic techniques and plant material to obtain new and valuable information for the replanting of vineyards”, reads the website of the Consortium itself, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2024 - today the wines of the territory from the vintage versions to the reserves, to the Gran Selezione, which, since a few months, has been enriched by the 11 Additional Geographical Units (San Casciano, Montefioralle, Panzano, San Donato in Poggio, Castellina, Vagliagli, Greve, Lamole, Radda, Gaiole and Castelnuovo Berardenga) of the denomination suspended between the Siena of the Middle Ages and the Florence of the Renaissance, have a recognised quality and typicality, and an elegance that is well suited to the tastes of today’s consumers. This is recognised by the market, with sales that are holding up despite the crisis in wine consumption, and in particular reds, and it is recognised by world critics, with high scores by many names in recent years, and the more unique than rare case of no less than 7 Tuscan Denomination labels (Antinori, Castello di Bossi, Arceno, Fèlsina, Castello di Querceto, Poggerino and Cecchi) out of the 24 Italian labels in the influential “Top 100” 2023 by “Wine Spectator” (which crowned at no. 1 Brunello di Montalcino 2019 by Argiano, ed.). And now, those who invest in fine wine, aided by the fact that the ‘great classics’ that for years have guaranteed important returns even in short periods of time to those who have put great labels in their portfolios, are beginning to look with greater attention to a wine, Chianti Classico, that perhaps deserves to have its economic value recognised at a higher level than it receives to date, in virtue of a quality that is now firmly at least on a par with that recognised in the most noble and famous territories of Italy and the world.
This is also reflected in the relevant benchmark, the Liv-Ex, which continues to record negative numbers overall. In fact, the Liv-Ex 100, the platform’s reference, is down 4.4% since the beginning of the year, and down 9.7% over the 12 months; the Liv-Ex 1000, the broadest, does even worse, with -7% in 2024 and -12% over one year; the Italy 100, which loses less than all the other territorial indices dedicated to Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne (all double-digit losses), nevertheless marks -3% since the beginning of the year, and -5.3% over the last 12 months. But, looking to the future, it is precisely the most noble labels of Chianti Classico - a denomination made up of 6,800 hectares under vine, 486 producers, 345 of which embrace the entire supply chain, and an overall production that oscillates between 35-38 million bottles every year, for a district economic value, with wine as the pivot, estimated at around 1 billion euro - that could represent the new “blue chip”, or the next “unicorn” for investors, to use financial jargon.
Liv-Ex itself, in its latest analysis, speaks of “undervalued Chianti Classico”, with Black Rooster wines that can be considered “currently one of the best examples of the mismatch between quality and price”. The Liv-Ex, in its analysis, cites the high scores for Riserva and Gran Selezione 2021 (in particular for wineries such as Antinori’s Tignanello, Fontodi, Castello di Ama, Istine, Querciabella and Castello di Fonterutoli of Marchesi Mazzei, ed.) and the reflections of Antonio Galloni (Vinous), according to whom “Chianti Classico continues to offer some of the best wines in terms of value for money, with the Chianti Classico vintage remaining one of the most competitive among Old World wines with a sense of place”, he points out that “at all levels of the Chianti Classico quality pyramid, the region’s wines offer better value for money than other major Italian red wine categories”. And in particular, Gran Selezione, which becomes particularly attractive to collectors with the arrival of the sub-zones on the label, explains Liv-Ex, could be the most interesting category for those wishing to invest. Compared to other Italian territories, Liv-Ex explains, Chianti Classico Gran Selezione has 58% better average scores, but is 54% cheaper. With Chianti Classico wines “generally representing better value than their Tuscan counterparts in Brunello di Montalcino, as well as Piedmont’s Barolo and Barbaresco”. This is an interesting prospect that opens up a new market segment for Chianti Classico, which, with far-sightedness, started a rewarding path some time ago.
With an average price increase of 7% in 2023 over 2022, and 13% over 2021, also thanks to the driving effect of the “Gran Selezione”, which, together with the Riserva, represent 42% of production and 54% of turnover. And that perhaps, with the long-awaited Unesco recognition for the “Landscape of the Chianti Classico Farm-Village System”, a unicum that further distinguishes one of the most beautiful wine territories in the world, and not only, which we have recounted many times, also in videos like this one, where history and vision of the future, anchored to sustainability, are intertwined as in few other territories in the world, it could receive the definitive consecration it already deserves, among the most noble, beloved and most precious wine territories in the world.