Wine Focus February 2023 - Benchmarks of Sangiovese

[David M. Bueker]

Counting down - 9 hours until February!

[David M. Bueker]

So we can discuss the benchmarks. Chianti Classico is still often very affordable. Brunello di Montalcino not so much, but the Rossos are often good value.

What’s interesting about Sangiovese is how little of it is grown elsewhere. It’s almost Tuscany or nothing.

What’s your go-to bottling of Sangiovese based wine? Mine is Felsina, as they offer three Chianti Classicos at various price points, plus a (formerly known as) Super Tuscan that is not wildly expensive.

Where’s the red sauce????

This thread seems to be very sluggish. Tuscan wines with a Sangiovese majority are amongst my favourites and I concur with David in finding that Fèlsina is my "go-to" estate. I hope to have a suitable pairing for a Fontalloro and Rancia before the end of the month. Meanwhile I have searched my CT notes for rare examples of Sangiovese based wines from outside Italy (other than in Tuscany, Sangiovese performs honourably in both Romagna and Umbria). Here is an example from nearby, but French, Patrimonio in Corsica where the grape is called Niellucciu. I have never been blown over by Patrimonio but I live in hope.

2020 Clos Santini Patrimonio Haute Vigne - France, Corsica, Patrimonio (16/11/2022)
This is quite light in colour and body, much more so than the 2016 if my memory and TN are correct. It has the same quite savoury plum infused fruit and nice tangy acidity, less underlying warmth but, I think, more fragrance and elegance. Good.

2016 Clos Santini Patrimonio Haute Vigne - France, Corsica, Patrimonio (20/11/2018)
This is the first time that I see a family ressemblance between Patrimonio (this one 90% Niellucciu, 10% Grenache) and Tuscan Sangiovese. It was medium+ bodied with quite savoury plum infused fruit, nice tangy acidity and a sweeter underlying warmth, particularly towards the finish, which is probably the contribution of Grenache. Good but not very keenly priced at c.15€.
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[David M. Bueker]

Unfortunately I have not been eating Sangiovese-friendly food, but have a couple of suitable meals this week.

I stood up a Brunello the other day, but decided that tonight’s dinner wasn’t quite at that level, so went with a Chianti Classico instead.

2015 Castell'in Villa Chianti Classico - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG (2/14/2023)
Ready to go from the minute it was opened. Strikingly fresh, it cleanses the palate at the same time it delivers bright red fruit a vibrant blast of freshly picked herbs, and just the right amount of tannic structure. Lots of fun to drink and a good value for $25.

[Jenise]

We're opening a CC tonight as well to go with a Moussaka. Nevermind that it's a Greek dish, should be a great pairing.

[Robin Garr]

Hey, gang, I don't get it! The short month of February is half over, and where's the love for Sangiovese? My love affair with Chianti and its cousins started in Mom'n'Pop Italian eateries before I was legally able to enjoy it, and I've never really lost that love. Is Sangovese no longer "in"?

Here's a note on a tasty Sangiovese-based red from Dei, a long-time favorite producer. I looked back in my files and found notes as far back as 2002. It's a Rosso di Montepulciano, little brother of Vino Nobile, and a real treat in the Tuscan style.

C'mon, crew! Let's see some TN's! Or if you really don't like Sangiovese, talk to us about that ...

Dei 2020 Rosso di Montepulciano Toscana ($18.99)

Billed as organically cultivated, Dei Rosso di Montepulciano is predominantly Prugnolo Gentile (the traditional name for Sangiovese in this region) with splashes of 5% each Canaiolo Nero and Merlot. Its aromas are full and appealing, showing the typical ripe cherries and plums of Sangiovese with a hint of dried fruit and just a whiff of spicy oak from its three months in large oak casks. On the palate it's bright and dry, juicy cherry flavors framed by brisk acidity, with soft tannins becoming more perceptible in the long finish. 14% alcohol. U.S. importer: Skurnik Wines, NYC. (Feb. 7, 2023)

FOOD MATCH: The back label suggests a match with red meats, flavorful salamis and aged cheeses, and those will all work well; we enjoyed it, too, with a traditional companion, pasta with a rich, garlicky tomato sauce.

WHEN TO DRINK: I don't see it as a long-term ager, and it's drinking nicely now, but with good cellar conditions it should be safe to hold it for two or three more years.

VALUE:
Wine-Searcher.com's $18 average U.S. retail matches my local price. It's well worth the tab for an excellent, approachable Sangiovese-based Tuscan red.

WEB LINK:
Learn more about this wine on the Dei website (in English).

Read about Caterina Dei and her family's wines at the Skurnik website.

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Check prices and find vendors for Dei Rosso di Montepulciano on Wine-Searcher.com.

Learn about Rosso di Montepulciano at this Wine-Searcher link to find listings for dozens of other wines from the region.

Follow this Wine-Searcher link to learn more about the Sangiovese grape (also known in this part of Tuscany as Prugnolo Gentile), and find listings for many more wines of this variety.

[David M. Bueker]

I actually thought that an Italian grape was perfect for "Hallmark month." Shows what I know.

I love Sangiovese. I can't really explain why I don't drink more of it. It suits a lot of the food I eat, and it's often an excellent value. I suspect that some of it is the three years of COVID, which has mostly kept me out of wine shops. 99% of my Italian buys have been in person over the years. I don't buy much of it on line. While stuck in the house a huge % of my buying became direct from winery, which means I was buying mostly American wines, and so little or no Sangiovese.

[Jenise]

Dave said:

I love Sangiovese. I can't really explain why I don't drink more of it. It suits a lot of the food I eat, and it's often an excellent value. I suspect that some of it is the three years of COVID, which has mostly kept me out of wine shops. 99% of my Italian buys have been in person over the years.

That's true for us, too.

I'll open something over the weekend; it has just a very bad week here at Chez J.

I can't think of any region where the wines have improved more in my lifetime than Tuscany. When I was first into wine in the 60s through to the 70s, Tuscan wine was typically Chianti in those straw covered fiaschi; fun to drink but not very memorable. It is true that old vintages of Biondi-Santi's Brunello had a mythical reputation and I recall trying some elderly Chianti in a Florentine then Michelin starred restaurant, Sabatini I think, but IIRC it was dried out. The dramatic general improvement in standards seems to have started in the 80s. Many Tuscan growers made a sensation by much praised "Super-Tuscan" wines from international varieties and others joined in by promoting their own Sangiovese under a similar guise. The standards of traditional Chianti improved in step as did those of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, on which I post a TN below.

These bottles from Poliziano may be the last I buy directly from an estate in Italy. Last September, I drove there to move my daughter and her pets and much of her luggage from Rome and managed to sneak a pit stop at a delightful small town named Montepulciano. We managed to find a crack in which to place a 6 pack from Poliziano and some local olive oil.

2019 Poliziano Vino Nobile di Montepulciano - Italy, Tuscany, Montepulciano, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (18/02/2023)
This Vino Nobile is derived from Sangiovese 85%, Colorino, Canaiolo e Merlot 15%. As always from Poliziano it is very good. I decanted and this was the right decision because, straight from the bottle, the nose was very inexpressive. By the time it was poured into the glasses, the nose was beginning to reveal fine aromas and the medium++ bodied palate was singing in a quite full throated manner with fresh cassis tinged fruit, some earthiness, good depth, tangy Tuscan acidity and good length supported by firm tannins. I think that a few more years will be beneficial. Already very good, though.
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[David M. Bueker]

That’s an interesting observation Tim. I wasn’t old enough to be stuck drinking from those dastardly straw covered bottles. By the time I started exploring Tuscan wine the Super Tuscan wave had started, and largely kept me at arms length except for a few familiar names such as Isole e Olena, Badia e Coltibuono, and “splurges” on the Felsina and Fontodi CC bottlings. Two Super Tuscan wines did stick with me, Cepparello and Flaccianello. Cepparello remained somewhat reasonably priced for a very long time, while Flaccianello skyrocketed after the early 2000s.

While the majority of ST wines were not my thing, I do think they shook up the region overall, leading to the high quality we enjoy today.

[Jenise]

Finally opened wine again last night. Chose a '14 Quorna Reserva to go with eggplant parmesan. At one point I had a case and a half of this wine, so for a long time it was our go-to Italian red and we're down to just three bottles now. Bottle variation has been significant, wide swings, so where some ploddy earthy-muddy notes in this bottle seems to indicate that it's time will soon be up, the other two bottles may be otherwise. Definitely no competition for Felsina.

This Fontalloro is a mature example from my favourite Chianti estate of what Sangiovese can achieve in Tuscany. The wine comes from a high altitude (330 - 407 metres) vineyard straddling the Chianti Classico and Colli Senesi boundary; on the Chianti Classico side the soil is stony and calcareous; on the Senesi side the soil is sandy, loamy and silty with pebbles and marine sediments. I guess that the wine is declared as IGT Toscana rather than Chianti because of the straddle but, when it was first released in the 80s, this also allowed it to claim Super-Tuscan status which at that time gave a marketing advantage over Chianti Classico.

1999 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Fontalloro - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (26/02/2023)
This has really opened up since my last bottle 7 years ago and is now a superb example of a 100% Sangiovese based Tuscan red. Straight from an undecanted bottle, the bouquet on the nose was a subtle blend mature red fruit, discreet flowers, fine minerals and a hints of meat and balsam. This followed through onto the medium++ linear shaped palate which showed good depth and length, fresh moreish acidity, silky texture and firmness on the finish without asperity. The overall effect was classy with both elegance and discreet power. Excellent.
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