Wine Focus June 2025 - Sangiovese

[David M. Bueker]

Summer is upon us, so we will be pivoting to a grape associated with that most sunshine-drenched spot (at least in some popular literature), Tuscany. Per Jancis Robinson's tome Wine Grapes, Sangiovese was first mentioned way back in 1600, and can trace it's roots to not only Tuscany, but also Calabria. Whoops!

Of course Sangiovese is the cornerstone of some of the most well known Italian wines, specifically Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino. It also has been a principal player in the sometimes justly reviled (and now renamed) Super Tuscans that incorporated non-Italian grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon (hello Tignanello) into the blends.

Advances in viticulture & wine making, as well as revisions the the regulations have helped Chianti escape some of its straw-covered bottle past, and some Chianti Classico wines, especially those styled as Riservas are not only quite ageable, but also getting a little pricey for what was once just an inexpensive go-to wine for red sauce pasta meals that could later double as candle holder!

So settle in for a glass of Sangiovese, whether Chianti, Brunello, or one of the other designations of this historic grape.

[Robin Garr]

WTN: Avignonesi Cantaloro Toscana

Is it a Sangiovese, or is it not!? This affordable Toscana is an odd blend: 55%Merlot, 12% Cab Sauv, and only 33% Sangiovese. The French grapes significantly outweigh the Tuscan grape, and it shows. It's a decent, flavorful, food-friendly red wine, but it doesn't taste particularly Italian, or for that matter, particularly French. This makes me faintly crabby because I like typicity; but not enough to decline a second glass because it's still a tasty table wine in a broad Southern European style.

Avignonesi Cantaloro 2020 Toscana ($14.99)

Avignonesi Cantaloro Toscana is dark ruby-purple in color. Ripe cherries and dried cherries dance in a subtle but complex aroma that adds blackberries and leather. Ripe cherry-berry flavors are framed with bright acidity and soft tannins, with hints of dried herbs joining in a long finish. 14% alcohol remains in balance without harshness or heat. U.S. importer: Avignonesi USA, Manhasset, N.Y. (May 27, 2025)

FOOD MATCH: Grilled beef or lamb would be its natural Tuscan companion; pizza with tomato toppings or mushrooms also would serve it well.

WHEN TO DRINK: At five years past the vintage, this wine is ready to go, although it should hold up for a few more years in a climate-controlled cellar.

VALUE:
Wine-Searcher.com's $14 average U.S. retail

WEB LINK:
Here is Avignonesi's Cantoloro page. Click "2020" or other choices under the introduction to read specifics about the vintage.

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Check prices and find vendors for Avignonesi Cantaloro Toscana on Wine-Searcher.com.

Read about Italy's Toscana designation and find links to wines and vendors at this Wine-Searcher link.

This Wine-Searcher link opens up a page about Avignonesi and its wines.

[David M. Bueker]

It doesn’t take that much to obliterate Sangiovese character. Tignaello sometimes has only 15% Cabernet in it, and it still tastes more like Cabernet than Sangiovese.

In my nearly 70 years of wine drinking, Tuscan wines, especially those from Sangiovese, have improved out of all recognition. In the 50s, 60s and early 70s, they were then overwhelmingly associated with the cheap and not always cheerful Chianti in straw covered fiaschi. Some connoisseurs made respectful remarks about Biondi-Santi's Brunello, supposedly age-worthy Chianti in Bordeaux style bottles and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano but, except for the first, they were almost impossible to find outside Italy. I recall ordering some elderly bottles of Chianti at the Sabatini restaurant in Florence sometime in the 60s only to find them disappointingly dried out. Between the early 70s and late 80s, there was a quality revolution and from then many Tuscan estates have been producing world beating age-worthy wines from Sangiovese as well as from interloping Bordeaux varieties.My favourite estates from the 90s and 00s are Fèlsina, Fontodi, Isole e Olena and Poliziano, of which I have a handful of bottles left.

Sangiovese, under its local name Niellucciu, also produces some of the best reds in Corsica.

Sangiovese, under its local name Niellucciu, also produces some of the best reds in Corsica.

Great asterisk for promoting alternate interpretations of the theme!

I always wanted to explore Corsican wine in more detail, but never get around to it...

[David M. Bueker]

Alternatives welcome! If I still had any Arnot-Roberts Sangiovese I would open it for a different twist. Sadly those two bottles are long gone, and I don’t think they ever made it again.