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Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro: ‘a glorious past is an opportunity not a constraint!’
The story of Tuscany’s famed Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro is one rich in history and heritage, however, as Filippo Bartolotta finds out – in the words of Star War’s Yoda – tasting the wines from 1977 onwards requires you to “unlearn what you have learned”.
“The future belongs to whoever started it. The future starts today!” This was how Ruffino, one of Tuscany’s famous producers announced the official launch of the new label of the iconic Chianti Classico Riserva Ducale Oro Gran Selezione.
“Having a glorious past should not be a constraint, but an opportunity,” Sandro Sartor, president and CEO of Ruffino explains. “Our immense historical heritage must serve the company to take us towards the future. This is the reason why we decided to make our dress more contemporary while keeping the product the same, indeed, improving it more and more. If we want a wine like our great Riserva Ducale to stay as it is we must know how to change things.”
The quotation of Tancredi, the main protagonist in Tomasi di Lampedusa’s book, The Leopard – if we want things to stay as they are things will have to change – can be interpreted as a sign of respect Ruffino has towards its past.
The company was founded in 1877 by brothers Ilario and Ippolito Ruffino, in Pontassieve, a few kilometers away from Florence. At the time, Italy had been an independent country for only 16 years but Ruffino itself shares a birthday with illustrious names such as The Washington Post, the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club (Wimbledon) and Barilla (the world’s largest pasta producer). The spirit of modernity burgeoning at the time must have been a source of inspiration for the Ruffino brothers as they soon become a major player in the wine world – the presence of the railways right across the cellar helped shipping the wine swiftly for example.
However in 1890 their future changed forever after the Duca d’Aosta tasted one of the big traditional Italian botti (around the 50,000 litres) and fell in love with the wine so much that he appointed Ruffino as an official supplier of the Royal House of Savoia. As a result, Ruffino started to become one of Italy’s most famous wine brands – the famous composer Giuseppe Verdi for example was a supporter, noting in one of his letters that he was buying a lot of the Tuscan brand although complaining about the delays in the wine deliveries.
But it wasn’t until 1927 that the first label of that “royal” wine was launched, the year that Riserva Ducale celebrated its 50th birthday, but also one that saw the birth of television, the first transatlantic phone call and the first solo flight from New York to Paris. It suffered a setback during the Second World War with the bombing of its cellar during 1944, but only three years later, in 1947, the famous gold label Riserva Ducale Oro was born.
By a coincidences of history, the launch of the gold label coincided with Italy signing the Gold Standard monetary system, while over in New York, the first Polaroid photo was taken the transistor – possible the most important invention of the 20th century – came to life. It therefore seems that the Riserva Ducale Oro walked alongside some of the greatest moments of the 20th and 21st centuries, so when last week in Villa Necchi in Milano, together with a group of sommeliers and journalists, we had the chance to go through a vertical tasting from 1977 until the present day, it felt like traveling back from the past.
The occasion was to celebrate the new label of Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Riserva Ducale Oro, still keeping the wine tasting scene with Duca d’Aosta but allowing the Ruffino brand to come forward. From the 2018 vintage the wine will have a new dress – 2018 is the year of the new deal for Ruffino, which sees it releasing the new ethical and socially sustainable deal of the company with the project “Ruffino Cares” which will also include an organic certification.
“Sustainability for us means many different things,” Sandro Sartor explains. “As farmers the environment is everything to us and we just act as keepers of the land we run so within two years we will be 100% organic but in the meanwhile all aspects of social responsibility matters to us”.
The tasting couldn’t start with anything else but a vintage with a “7” (actually a double 7) and so tasting kicked off with the some amazing 1977 bottles. This vintage in Tuscany hasn’t been really one of the great ones of the 70’s, such as the ripe and generous 1975 but the wine has always shown to be in a brilliant shape. I tasted it several times during the last two decades and its transparent, delicate and juicy character has never failed me so far. And one of the most interesting facts about this vintage is the presence of 10% of white Malvasia!
But wait a minute, wasn’t it forbidden to use white varieties in the Chianti Classico blend? Well, yes and no – it has been forbidden since 2005, but prior to that, it was part of the deal. Until the early 1990s, the blend of Riserva Ducale Oro has largely comprised: 75% Sangiovese for the backbone; 10% Canaiolo for a more delicate touch, 10% Malvasia for more aromatics and 5% of Ciliegiolo e Colorino for some extra colour.
And weren’t we always told that white varieties don’t allow red wines to age better? I believe it isn’t a matter of the colour of the grapes but rather the quality of what’s harvested: As Yoda says in Star Wars: A New Hope, “You must unlearn what you have learned” – so let us taste these wines with an open mind!
Tasting Notes
Although the wines in Milano comprised only 7 vintages, I had the chance the previous week – exclusively for The Drinks Business – to taste many more. So you will find the notes on 15 Riserva Ducale Oro vintages.
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Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva 1977
Blend: 75% Sangiovese; 10% Canaiolo; 10% Malvasia; 5% Ciliegio e Colorino.
4 years 80Hl Slavonia botti.
Orange peel, Kumquat, nespola, raspberries, incense, a touch of strawberries, echinacea. Kaleidoscopic palate with a crazy juicy, salty aftertaste. I love the pomegranate and the bee wax with a touch of rose petals. Every once in a while there’s touch of more decadent officinal herbs but the palate is smooth and yet reactive. Fabulous. 97/100
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Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva 1979
Blend: 75% Sangiovese; 10% Canaiolo; 10% Malvasia; 5% Ciliegio and Colorino.
4 years big 80Hl Slavonia botti.
Earthy, liquorice, chinotto (a sparkling soft drink made from the fruit of the myrtle-leaved orange tree), mint, smokey, shiitake mushrooms. Peppermint, balsamic, fireplace, barbecue, grapefruit and passionfruit. Another impressive wine with a more leathery and earthy touch though. 90/100
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Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva 1982
Blend: 75% Sangiovese; 10% Canaiolo; 10% Malvasia; 5% Ciliegio e Colorino.
Geranium, violets, farmyard notes, some fresh green peas flowers, roasted chestnut, peppermint, liquorice, wild fennel. Palate super reactive with sour cherries very fresh and mineral. Levigated tannins with a Tuscan Chianti Classico character. 96/100
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Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva 1985
Blend: 90% Sangiovese; 7% Canaiolo; 3% Malvasia.
Prunes, leather and muddiness with a liquorice touch. Slightly vegetal and with an oxidative nose. Better on the palate with some dry tannins though. 87/100
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Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva 1986
Blend: 80% Sangiovese; 10% Canaiolo; 10% Malvasia; 5% Ciliegio and Colorino.
Elegant floral, with a musky note, sour cherries, red fruit. Super clean and elegant. Wild roses, echinacea and rosemary. On the palate the wine shows a very intense juiciness with a plum and orange zest. Sour cherries, violets and a very lingering finish with a touch of gun powder tea. 94/100
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Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva 1988
Blend: 90% Sangiovese; 7% Canaiolo; 3% Malvasia.
After eight, darker colour with a minute and dry herbs nose. Balsamic and green pepper and Earl Grey (chinotto). Riper with a mineral finish and a great salty finish. Liquorice stick in the end with an amazing sweet finish. Love this style despite a touch too ripe for me. 92/100
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Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva 1990
Blend: 90% Sangiovese; 7% Canaiolo; 3% Malvasia.
4 years in the big Slavonia oak 80HL
Mature, ripe prunes, black cherries, leather, and a strong alcoholic edge with a sweet tobacco touch. The tannic structure is more important with a drier and more astringent perception. 89/100
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Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva 1996
Blend: 90% Sangiovese; 10% Canaiolo, Colorino, Cabernet and Merlot.
24 months in big botti and 6 months in barriques.
Mulberries, vanilla, violets, ripe plums and black currants. Very clean. lovely pourt-purri, dry roses, hay and propolis. A great mouthful with a black cherry explosion. A powerful Chianti Classico. Black cherries. Important tannins, power and elegance. 94/100
Until 1996 the grapes were coming from the colder valleys of Greve in Chianti area while as off 1997 the fruit will all be coming from the more southern Castellina in Chianti area.
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Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva 2001
Black currants, blueberries and mirth on the nose, Some green peppers and a massively extracted character. Modern blockbuster, less transaparent then the other samples. The palate has got a lot of oak spices and some astringent tannins. 88/100
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Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva 2005
Blend: 80% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet and Merlot.
35 to 75 Hl big botto Slavonia plus tonneaux and barriques for 24 months.
Prunes, chocolate and coconut with a leather touch. Herbaceous, black currant, cedar wood. Balsamic and extractive wine, powerful but with a lot of juiciness to help the plate digest all the raw material. Vibrant and structured at once 92/100
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Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva 2007
Blend: 80% – 20% Cabernet and Merlot.
35/75 Hl Slavonia 24 Months.
Mango, black cherries and oak spices, licorice. Lots of morello cherries, blood orange. A very good contrast on the palate. More alcoholic with a drier finish. 87/100
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Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva 2011
Blend: 85% Sangiovese, 10% Merlot; 5% Cabernet
35/75 Hl Slavonia plus used barrique 24 months.
A very mature nose, with some overripe tones from the hot vintage.Cherries under spirits, ginger and ginger bread with a cinnamon touch. Important tannic structure with some dry hints.
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Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva 2014
Blend: 85% Sangiovese, 10% Merlot; 5% Cabernet
35/75 Hl Slavonia plus used barrique 24 months.
Floral, underbrush, black berries, gingerbread, Sacher-torte orange custard. A juicy and refreshing wine with much more of a lingering finish then expected. A touch cherries under spirit. 90/100
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Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva 2016
Blend: 85% Sangiovese, 10% Merlot and 5% Cabernet
35/75 Hl Slavonia plus used barrique 24 months.
Blueberries, chocolate, orange peel, blood orange and oak spices. Blueberries, chocolate, tar and oak spices, some chestnut and beacon with a very tight palate at the moment, it needs time. 92/100
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Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2018
Blend: 83% Sangiovese, 12% Merlot and 5% Cabernet
35/75 Hl Slavonia plus used barrique 24 months.
A fantastic transparent red ruby color. A lot of very fine tuned red driven fruit. Earthy, gun flint, juicy red currants. Coconut and chocolate, pencil shaving. Powerful wine with a good vibrant palate with an intriguing sage and violet nose bleeding with some extremely juicy fruit. 95/100