The 2020 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Ipsus is gorgeous. Cedar, sweet pipe tobacco, mint, dried flowers, spice and blood orange open first in the aromatics. Layered and quite broad, the 2020 exudes class. About 40% of the lots saw submerged-cap maceration, which added a sense of classicism. There is also an element of exoticism that is palpable. Pretty floral and savory overtones reappear on the finish. This such a distinctive wine.

This is a special limited-production project imagined by the Mazzei family in Castellina in Chianti. This noble clan owns some of the area's most promising vineyards, including the legendary, forest-lined Siepi. Not too far way is the spine of a hill that extends over to the Sangiovese vines used to make this wine. The Caggio 2020 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Ipsus is engineered to produce fruit brightness, freshness and transparency. The wine succeeds each year I have tasted it (with the first vintage being 2015), but I think special props should be given in a vintage like 2020, which veered toward the warm side of the spectrum. Indeed, Ipsus offers primary fruit first and foremost; however, hints of smoke and light spice also appear. There is cherry versus cumin seed or cassis versus cardamom. The wine shows good fruit weight and length, despite its elegant frame.