It took me a while to figure out why sangiovese is the most-planted red grape in Italy. At 155,000 acres of vine, it accounts for about 8 percent of all wine grapes planted there. And this in a country that routinely makes wine from 400 or so varieties. Italy can pick and choose if it wants to.
If you look at sangiovese from a winemaker’s point of view, it’s a pain both to grow on the vine and to make into wine. The varietal puts out a lot of grapes, if given its druthers, which isn’t good for winemaking; large volume makes for dissipated flavor.
Plus, sangiovese grapes grow tightly in long but compact bunches; again, not the best configuration for success. Inner grapes are often less ripe than outer ones. At harvest, winemakers really dislike that unevenness because it can make for a vegetal “greenness” in the wine.
Also, after a rain, common in the autumn, water seeps inside those compact bunches and rots grapes; air can’t circulate in order to dry them.
Sangiovese rots easily because its skin is thin, which is also not great for winemaking: Pigments and other phenolic substances, such as tannins, that make for good red wine take a long time to develop, and need careful attention during fermentation so they can be successfully leached in.
Sangiovese is additionally very fickle, even mutating without giving two weeks’ notice. (No surprise, given that its name translates to “the blood of Jove.”) Up and down the Apennine Peninsula, there’s nice sangiovese and naughty sangiovese and sometimes it’s not clear, right in front of you, which is which from season to season. It also prefers certain sorts of soils and climate. This year. Next year? Shrug of shoulders.
So, for a long time I’ve asked myself: Why would a culture well-known and appreciated for its lock on la dolce vita tolerate such a rascal?
I am pretty sure it’s because an Italian doesn’t make a wine unless or until he or she is thinking about something else, aka food. Italy hasn’t found a red wine grape that accompanies its food better than sangiovese.
So what if it’s a pain in the keister to grow as a grape and make into a wine. Shrug of shoulders.
The foods of Italy are replete with salt (seafood, cheese, cured meat), fat (olive oil, red meat, cheese), acidity (tomatoes, fruits, citrus) and sweet (dried fruit, honey, sugar).
Few red (or white) wines taste better than sangiovese with all those elements of the Italian larder, sweet stuff excepted.
Sangiovese screams with acidity; its tannins are plentiful and incisive, but not grating; and, for all its abundant flavor and perfume, its body, structure and delivery are temperate and fine. It is the most pleasant, perfectly attuned guest at the table.
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Over the past few months, I’ve tasted almost 50 Italian sangiovese. Here are the best, listed by price.
2009 Perticaia Montefalco Rosso, Umbria: Terrifically aromatic, plush, juicy, well-priced red from “the heart of Italy.” $15
2011 Stickybeak Toscana Rosso, Tuscany: Under-il-radar red found by Aussie-based firm from 40-plus-year-old Tuscan vines, softened with bits of merlot and syrah, at ridiculously low price. $20
2008 Angelini Sangiovese Riserva Colli Pesaresi, Marche: Aromatic of dried cherry fruit leather with a plump, smooth texture and snappy finish; great price. $20
2010 Brancaia Red Blend “Tre,” Tuscany: Great buy from high-end winemaker; blend of three (“tre”) reds, mostly sangiovese; inviting scents of cherry cobbler, brown spice and polished wood. $23
2008 Cecchi Chianti Classico “Reserva di Famiglia,” Tuscany: Hallmark of this family-run winery is how juicy its reds are, brimming with brightly scented fruit. $25
2009 Fattoria Le Pupille Elisabetta Geppetti Morellino di Scansano Riserva, Tuscany: Dark red fruits accented by full-on earth and leather tones. $25
2009 Fattoria Selvapiana Chianti Rufina Vigneto Bucerchiale, Tuscany: Oh, if only all Chianti had the perfume of its Rufina district’s reds! Renowned single vineyard’s ancient vines make for always-voluptuous Chianti. $30-$35
2010 Bibi Graetz Testamatta Soffocone di Vincigliata, Tuscany: Cross Rioja-like vanilla and anise with cherry-rich sangiovese from 40-year-old vines. $37
2008 Marchesi Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva Badia a Passignano, Tuscany: King of the Tuscan hills at its crowning estate; gorgeous aromas, juicy flavors, lengthy finish; deliciously perfect modern Chianti. $44
2009 Poliziano Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Asinone, Tuscany: Single vineyard Vino Nobile; dark, brooding, black cherry hinting at earth and wet stone. $44
2007 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino, Tuscany: Great value for a Brunello; super elegant, great finesse, spiced and earthy. $50
2007 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino, Tuscany: Richer in fruit than many a Brunello, Bovril-like in its concentration of “dark” flavors of black cherry, underbrush, humus and polished leather. $55
If your wine store does not carry these wines, ask for ones similar in style and price.
Bill St. John has been writing and teaching about wine for more than 40 years.