Chiara Condello 'Sangiovese' Normale

Natural Red Wine

“If I had to pick one producer right now that represents the best of wine, I would pick Chiara Condello from Predappio in Emilia-Romagna,” says Annie Shi, partner and wine director at New York’s King and Jupiter. Condello, whose first vintage was 2015, works exclusively with sangiovese, and makes only two wines: a “normale,” which is macerated for 15 to 20 days before aging in neutral Slavonian oak for a year, and a “riserva,” which undergoes an extended maceration of around 40 days and is aged for two years. Both are farmed organically and fermented naturally in open-top wooden vats (a decidedly traditional approach). While sangiovese from Emilia-Romagna has long been dismissed for being of lesser quality than its Tuscan counterparts, Condello’s wines are textured, age-worthy, full of energy—an argument to the contrary. “Chiara represents the story of the new generation of winemakers in Italy: a young female winemaker who has split from her family domaine to make wines that are farmed thoughtfully and organically and made with care in the cellar,” says Shi. “Her sangiovese hits so far above her price point.”

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• Grapes: 100% Sangiovese
• Region:  Italy / Northern Italy / Emilia-Romagna / Romagna / Predappio
• ABV: 13.5%
• Vintage: 2022