The first notary report documenting wine production in this same area dates back to the XIVth century. However, the territory was not always dedicated exclusively to vineyards, but also to olive crop for the purpose of olive oil production. These days almost 7200 hectares of vineyards are registered as DOCG classification for the production of Chianti Classico.

The Sangiovese grape, the variety from which the Chianti Classico is produced, is rather sensitive to the characteristics of the terroir where it grows. In this area, different geological structures coexist, such as clay, tuff, Chianti boulders, limestone, and marl. These soil features combined with the different expositions of the vineyards and altitudes give rise to a complex number of aromatic and gustative variables in the wines. One will quickly realise then that we cannot speak solely of a single Chianti Classico, even if the wine made here is classified as such.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CRU AND MGA
This year, the tasting of the various Barolo 2018 followed a unique and brand new criterion. The samples were divided by municipality and then by Crus, and tasted following a geographical path from north to south for each side of the Barolo area.
This division allowed to register every single nuance among wines produced in small areas with the same pedoclimatic conditions, thus to carry out a more accurate analysis.

An interesting digression about the terms “Cru” and “MGA” is also necessary.

During the 90s, Barolo undergoes a radical transformation and is completely rediscovered by the oenological world: starting as an astringent and an austere wine, it instead becomes harmonious, free from oxidation, rich in new aromas and specific characteristics of Nebbiolo variety.
As a consequence, market demand and vine areas spread, as well as wineries and labels, who feel the need to distinguish themselves from each other by giving to their own wines vineyards’ names, both dialectal or invented.
To avoid confusion, it is necessary to permanently name the different vine areas – the most ancient as well as the most recent ones – by municipality.
The Consortium for the Protection of Barolo and Barbaresco plays in this regard a fundamental role that ends up with the inclusion of 181 areas in the new regulation brought out in 2010, which officially defines at administrative level the main denominations and the smaller areas.

Thus were born the MGA, Menzioni Geografiche Aggiuntive (additional geographical mentions), called this way as required by the law and the Ministerial Decree in force at the time. Piedmont, specifically for Barolo and Barbaresco, is the only Italian region using this new denomination method.

But what’s the difference between Cru and MGA? It would be an understatement to say that MGA are just newer Crus. The mention is a geographical indication that is added to the main denomination, thus indicating a smaller area. Compared to the concept of “Vigna” (vineyard), with its exclusively corporate dimension, the mention has a more collective value instead, concerning more producers. On the other hand, Cru leads the same way to identify a specific production area, where several factors – even not natural – give the wine unique and particular characteristics, different from those you can found in other wines, however produced in nearby locations.

MGA and Cru are not the same, but both are valid as Barolo “sub-appellation”, to better identify origin and peculiarities that otherwise would be difficult to distinguish in such a wide wine scene.