What if you could pour a glass of the same winemaking bloodline that built Brunello di Montalcino — the wine collectors pay hundreds of dollars a bottle for — for a fraction of that cost? That’s not a marketing trick. That’s the Losi family’s 2023 Pontignanello Chianti Classico, and once you know the story, you won’t look at everyday Chianti the same way again.
The Losi’s have been farming this exact land in Tuscany since 1870. While big commercial Chianti brands got bought, merged, and mass-produced into oblivion, the Losi’s just kept doing what they’ve always done: hand-tending vines in Castelnuovo Berardenga, the most coveted southern pocket of Chianti Classico, on land the Etruscans were already farming 2,500 years ago.
Here’s the part that should really get your attention: in 1954, the family brought in a young enologist named Tancredi Biondi Santi to help run the estate. That name matters — the Biondi Santi family is THE name in Brunello di Montalcino, the family literally credited with inventing the wine that redefined what Italian reds could be. A bottle of their standard Brunello runs $200–$270 today, and their Riservas can fetch up to $650 to $800+. That relationship left its mark on Losi forever — Biondi Santi later gifted the family vine cuttings for their prized reserve wine, and to this day the Losi cellar quietly holds bottles going back to the 1960s. That’s the kind of pedigree wine writers get genuinely excited about — and it’s baked into every bottle of Pontignanello.
The vineyards sit right beside the Certosa di Pontignano, a 14th-century monastery so significant it hosted Pope Paul III himself in 1538. Ancient soil, aristocratic winemaking DNA, a family that’s never sold out — this is the wine you bring to dinner when you want people to ask “wait, what is this?”
One more thing worth knowing: that black rooster on the bottle isn’t decoration, it is a badge you have to earn. Legend says it was born from a rigged rooster-crowing contest that settled the medieval border war between Florence and Siena, and by 1924 it became the official seal of the original, historic Chianti heartland — one of the first wine zones ever legally defined. “Chianti Classico” and the Gallo Nero are reserved only for wines from inside those founding boundaries, under tougher rules than everyday Chianti. See that rooster, know it’s the real thing.
Tasting Notes
Pour it and the glass lights up bright ruby red with a violet halo — gorgeous before you even take a sip. The nose hits fast: intense, focused, layered with ripe red and dark fruit and just enough earthy, floral Sangiovese character to signal this isn’t a one-note wine. On the palate it’s silky but structured — ripe, elegant tannins wrapped around forest fruit, dried cherry, and a soft touch of vanilla from its time in oak — finishing bright, savory, and hungry for food. This is a Chianti built for the table: think grilled steak, wild boar ragù, aged pecorino, or honestly just a really good Sunday dinner with people you like.
The Losi family can trace its roots back to 1870, with Emilio Losi as the head of the family at that time. In 1963, the Losi family became members of the Chianti Classico wine Consortium and began bottling with their own brand. Valeria is a fifth-generation winemaker along with her brother Riccardo and their father Pietro. Since 1870, the Losi family has produced from their vineyards in Chianti Classico. Their lands center on Castelnuovo Berardegna, Siena. The core of the Losi philosophy has always been quality and typicality.
Available States
AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Losi Pontignanello Chianti Classico DOCG
2023 Losi Pontignanello Chianti Classico DOCG, Italy
Tasting Notes
Specs
What’s Included
3-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
not for sale on winery website, $480/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Oct 19 - Tuesday, Oct 20
2023 Losi Pontignanello Chianti Classico DOCG
3 bottles for $74.99 $25/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $229.99 $19.17/bottle + $1/bottle shipping