Ruffino is a large wine company with an annual turnover of €100m. It was founded in Pontassieve, the gateway to the Chianti sub-region of Rúfina, in 1877 and has since gone from strength to strength.  The Riserva Ducale (‘reserved for the Duke’) line is named in honour of the Duke of Aosta. Back in 1890 he fell in love with the wine and made Ruffino the official supplier to his court. Goodness only knows what sort of condition the wine was in by the time it had made its way from northern Tuscany to Aosta, in Italy’s far north-western corner. Let’s hope they sent the wine on its 500km journey in the depths of winter!

Ruffino’s Chianti was apparently the first to be exported to the USA. It was their initiative which led to the fiasco, the straw covered bottle, becoming the unofficial symbol for the inexpensive red wine of Tuscany. After the second world war the company expanded in part by buying estates in top Tuscan regions – Montalcino, Chianti Classico and Montepulciano.  The US market became increasingly important to it. Things came full circle when Ruffino was bought, in two transactions in 2004 and 2011, by the US wine giant, Constellation Brands.  Mediabanca reports that in 2016 it sold more than 90% of its wine abroad. So this is ‘Made in Italy’ for the world and especially for the US and Canadian market. 

The Ruffino portfolio reflects this very clearly. The heartland is Tuscany to which they have added white wine from Umbria, Pinot Grigio and of course sparkling wines (Prosecco, a sparkling Rosé made from Glera and Pinot Noir, and Moscato d’Asti).  Ruffino have recently added a winery in the Maremma to their offering. While the core of the list is something of a caricature of mid-market Italian wine as seen from abroad there is no doubt about its commercial success. Wine production just about doubled between 2011 and 2016, resulting in regular double-digit annual sales growth.  

Ruffino is set for a push in the UK market and as part of that I was a selection of their very best wines to taste.  The three wines were all Sangiovese-based – a Super Tuscan, a Chianti Classico and a Brunello.  I will confess that my previous experience with Ruffino wines has not been great. They are of course competent and reliable but I have never found them exciting. Here was the chance to taste three of the stars of the line up.  

Modus, Toscana IGT, Ruffino, 2015, 14.5%, c. £25 

Modus is the Super Tuscan offering, a three-way blend of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, grown on two of their own estates, Poggio Casciano (near Bagno a Ripoli) and Santedame (Castellina in Chianti).  These two estates are in the Chianti Classico area but that is not the key point here; rather it is the dominance of the French varieties in this blend. The wine is aged in a one to three year-old French and American oak barriques.  

The wine is deep ruby in colour. Unlike the two others wines which are shades of paler ruby, indicating that they are basically Sangiovese; here the Cabernet and the Merlot grown in a hot climate and well extracted gives a deep ruby hue.  The first sniff on the nose points to new oak – vanilla, coconut and smoke and then dark berried fruit and just a hint of alcoholic warmth.  The palate is rich and dense, layers of blackberry and black plum fruit, a touch of something dusty and lightly herbal.  Balancing the rich fruit is the firm but ripe structure of refreshing acidity and chewy if ripe tannins.  This is undoubtedly a high-quality wine but for my palate, it lacks a sense of place. Ok, it’s not fruity enough to be a classic new world wine. The structure points to the old world but the fruit character is rather general.  Tuscany without the edges? 

Riserva Ducale Oro, Chianti Classico Gran Selezione, 2014, 14.5%, c. £29 

Ruffino made its reputation and fortune through inexpensive and mid-priced Chianti, the huge denomination which covers much of central Tuscany. It is now raising its ambition with this Chianti Classico from the still large but hilly quality zone.  This wine is now classified as a Gran Selezione, the new top category designed to showcase the best.  This wine is made from 80% Sangiovese (the legal minimum) and 20% of Cabernet and Merlot.  This means that it is as ‘super Tuscan’ as a Chianti Classico can be, the latter two varieties giving depth of colour and a certain fruit richness not associated with the austerity of Tuscany’s great variety.  The fruit apparently comes from the Gretole estate, near Castellina in Chianti – though you have to do quite a bit of digging to find this out. Finally, by way of introduction it is worth noting that this wine is from the extremely difficult, wet and cold, 2014 vintage.  (Blending from wines of other vintages up to 15% is allowed and would have been a good option in 2014, if you had any wine from earlier vintages available.)  

A touch under medium ruby in the glass, this opens up with attractive floral notes and sour cherry fruit. The mid-palate has some roundedness and black fruit, hinting at the international varieties in the blend and complementing the Sangiovese. The oak is extremely well handled, adding a light savoury touch and texture, not flavour. The wine is aged for a year in large-format Slavonian oak and then for a further year in second-use barriques.  Here the tannins are much more classic – high and pleasantly rasping, plus racy acidity.  Long, savoury, dry finish.  This is a highly creditable example of a modern Chianti Classico and a credit to the work in the vineyard and winery in a genuinely difficult year.  Bravo! 

Tenuta Greppone Mazzi, Brunello di Montalcino, 2013, 14.5% c. £50

One of Ruffino’s acquisitions was Tenuta Greppone Mazzi in Montalcino, the elevated plateau which probably allows Sangiovese its finest expression. Brunello di Montalcino, of course, must be 100% Sangiovese and so there are no options for blending other varieties.  Pale ruby with a garnet tint in colour, the aromas here are less fruity and more ethereal – tea leaf, sour red cherry as you would expect, a hint of forest floor.  An elegant, tensile palate follows through. This is a classy example of Sangiovese in purezza. 

There is a fascinating contrast in the way this wine was received by the critics. I am not sure which side of the bed Walter Speller (for JancisRobinson.com) got out of bed that day but he really didn’t like the wine, tasted blind. He gave it a modest 16/20, not a high score for an ambitious Brunello:

‘Balsamic nose with hints of cherry and a little vegetal/herbal/smoky. Sour cherry that is quite light. Doesn’t make an enormous impact on the palate and lacks a little in substance. Drying tannins on the finish.’

By contrast, Kerin O’Keefe for Wine Enthusiast, loved it, awarding it 95/100:

‘Aromas of underbrush, tilled soil, iris, new leather and red-skinned berry take shape in the glass. It’s full in body yet shows a weightless intensity, offering Marasca cherry, raspberry, star anise and tobacco set against a backbone of firm acidity and taut, polished tannins. Still tightly wound and reserved, it’s a classic in the making, destined for a lengthy stay in the cellar.’

I am closer to O’Keefe than to Speller. ‘Weightless intensity’ is spot on.  I am not sure that the wine has the fruit concentration for long ageing despite coming from a great vintage. But I would very happily drink this over the next ten years.  And the contrast of the assessment between the two critics? Probably bottle variation is the first thing to think about. 

It has been a pleasure to get to know the top wines of Ruffino better. It is often the case that successful companies which major on everyday wines have some top levels wines as well. That is certainly the case with Ruffino.  

With thanks to Ruffino and their PR company Well Com for these samples.