Chianti Classico's 2012 vintage was the produce of one of the hottest summers ever to be recorded, but when I tasted the 48 examples described below, I found to my surprise that they showed surprising freshness and elegance. Only in the rarest of cases were there the hallmarks of hot vintages: stewed fruit flavours and high levels of alcohol. With now five out of the last 10 vintages having been characterised by intense heat (2003, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012), 2012 can safely be called a climate-change vintage, in which the growing cycle and weather pattern seem regularly to confront wine...