In 1716 Cosimo III de' Medici drew legal boundaries around Chianti — among the first wine delimitations in the world. In 1872 Bettino Ricasoli fixed the formula from his castle at Brolio: Sangiovese for backbone and perfume, Canaiolo to soften it. The straw-wrapped fiasco then carried the name everywhere, and ended by cheapening it.
The revolution came late in the twentieth century: yields cut, white grapes expelled from the blend, Sangiovese replanted clone by clone. Chianti Classico, the historic heart between Florence and Siena, seals its bottles with the black rooster — an emblem drawn from a medieval border legend between the two rival cities.