We've pulled together a special 6 pack of Tuscan Sangiovese to accompany this guide, including 1 each of the pinnacle wines from Tregole and Il Colle di Carli. Click here to get it for $499 (save $65 off RRP).
Did you know that 40% of the red wine lines we stock at Vino Cammino in 2024 are made from 100% Sangiovese grapes? Do you know which ones? Given it’s often only the region written on Italian labels, rather than the grape, we’ll forgive you if you’re not sure.
We love Sangiovese, so we thought we’d tell you a little more about it, including the important bits to look for on Italian labels, or on the wine list at your favourite Italian restaurant. We’ll cover what it means when you spy Chianti Classico, Riserva, Gran Selezione, or Montalcino on the label, and offer a few other tips including what to pair with them.
While Sangiovese is planted in many parts of Italy, and the world, its home region is undeniably Tuscany. Under the Tuscan sun, it produces a big, high tannin, high acidity red wine, often with lots of red and black fruit flavours like cherries and plums, as well as dried herbs. Additional flavours will depend on winemaking technique and the age of the bottle.
Chianti v Chianti Classico
Even for Tuscan Sangiovese, quality can be variable, so there are a couple of things to look out for. Chianti is the most famous and widely sold version of Tuscan Sangiovese, but there is a big difference between plain old Chianti, and Chianti Classico. Chianti Classico is the central region between Florence and Sienna where Chianti was traditionally produced (back to the time of the Medicis). When it became popular around the world in the early 20th century, the surrounding regions also started to call their Sangiovese wines Chianti to benefit from that halo. To avoid harm to its brand, producers from the original region formed a consortium and created what is now known as the Chianti Classico designation. The famous symbol of the black rooster is found on the neck of Chianti Classico bottles.
Grapes in the Chianti Classico region tend to be grown in the higher altitude hilltop regions and so benefit from a longer growing season, bringing greater complexity to the wines. The surrounding regions, with shorter, hotter growing seasons from the lower altitudes and flatter vineyards, as well as greater yields in clay soils tend to produce a less interesting wine.
The wines made by Sophie Conte at Fattoria Tregole are all within the Chianti Classico designation and at 500-600m are grown at some of the highest altitudes of the whole region. We love the extra complexity these wines deliver, and the altitude is also a useful hedge against the impact of climate change during coming Tuscan summers.
Chianti Classico v Riserva v Gran Selezione
You’ll see three Chianti Classico wines on offer from Tregole, and they vary in price and style, so what do the designations of Riserva and Gran Selezione signify?
Let’s start at the top quality level with Gran Selezione, which has the most requirements, set by the Chianti Classico consortium.
- A minimum of 90% Sangiovese, allowing 10% of other indigenous red grapes.
- Only estate grapes bottled on the estate (so no buying grapes from other growers to boost volumes).
- Single vineyard, or a deliberate selection of best estate grapes
- Minimum aging of 30 months (3 in bottle)
- A panel of the Chianti Classico consortium rate the characteristics of the wine as outstanding example of Chianti Classico.
All of the Tregole wines meet the requirements of 1 (all are 100% Sangiovese), and 2 (Sophie only uses estate grapes). Both the gran Selezione and Riserva from Tregole meet 3 as they are made from single vineyard grapes.
The next level is Riserva with 3 requirements:
- 80% minimum Sangiovese
- Minimum aging 24 months (3 in bottle)
- Panel must rate characteristics as typical of Chianti Classico
And finally, the requirements for base level Chianti Classico only change in one respect from the Riserva, requiring only 12 months of age.
Aside from the technical requirements, the other thing you should know about the three levels is how to age or air them. For the Gran Selezione - put it down for at least 10 years to start to get an idea of it’s peak quality, or if you can’t resist, give it 3-4 hours of air before you taste it. The air won’t add aged characteristics, only time in the bottle will do that, but it can give the wine a chance to unfurl some of its complexity that would otherwise be tightly wrapped up. For the Riserva, put it down for at least 5 years, or give it 1-2 hours of air. For the Chianti Classico, it’s ready to go now, but will continue to be great over the next 3-4 years at least. Will benefit from 30 mins of air if you can!
Chianti Classico v Montalcino
Just when you thought you had your head around Tuscan Sangiovese… did you know Brunello is the name in the local dialect for a specific clone of Sangiovese grown on the slopes surrounding the town of Montalcino? So Brunello di Montalcino is one of the examples of Italian wine labels that refer to both the grape (Brunello, a clone of Sangiovese) and the region (Montalcino).
Other than geography, there is a slight difference between the Sangiovese clones used in Montalcino and Chianti Classico regions. Brunello grapes tend to have a slightly thicker skin and larger size. That means they tend to produce darker colour, more powerful wine, with higher tannin and, on average, can and should be aged longer. The 2019 Brunello from Il Colle Di Carli should drink well for 50 years according to Caterina! Brunello di Montalcino is considered by many to be the finest example of not just Sangiovese but of Italian reds. You’ll just have to taste widely and decide for yourself!
Rosso v Brunello
Like in Chianti Classico, the wines of Montalcino also have different quality and price levels with different requirements, which primarily comes down to aging before release to market.
Brunello di Montalcino must be aged for at least 4 years before release to the market (minimum of 2 in oak). For Rosso di Montalcino, the minimum is just 12 months, so they’ll tend to be less tannic, lighter and more about the fruit characteristics.
Caterina Carli ages her Brunello for 40 months in large, old Slavonian oak barrels and the remainder of the 4 years in bottle. For the Rosso it’s 18 months and a further 8 in bottle (so more than double the aging requirement).
By now you can probably guess about the aging and airing requirements for these wines. A minimum of 15+ years (but up to 50!), or 3-4 hours of air for the Brunello. It’s so incredibly good now, but we can’t wait to keep coming back to it over the coming decades. And while Rossos are generally good to drink immediately - the Rosso from Caterina could be aged up to 15 years.
What to pair with our Sangiovese
These wines deserve a thoughtful pairing but never fear, our range and the grape are quite versatile.
The Chianti Classico and Rosso di Montalcino can match well with a charcuterie and cheese plate or tomato based dish like margarita pizza or a red sauce pasta (the high acidity of the wines matches the acid of the tomato nicely). The bigger reds: Brunello, Gran Selezione or Riserva Chianti Classico need a rich meal to balance the strength of the tannins and fruit flavours. You can’t go wrong with classic Tuscan dishes like Ribollita or Bistecca alla Fiorentina.
Summing it up
Congratulations if you made it this far. You now have a good base knowledge for the 100% Sangiovese reds on offer from Vino Cammino. Of course, we didn’t mentioned the white style (Toscana Bianco) from Tregole, but it’s just as well because we’re sold out of that for the time being (you’ll be the first to know when more arrives!).
But if you think you’ve got a good base for all Tuscan Sangiovese, I’m sorry to tell you that we didn’t have space (and thought we might cause permanent damage to your synapses if we did) to tell you about several other versions, including for example the Vino Nobile di Montapulciano, which is another style of Tuscan Sangiovese and refers to the town of Montapulciano rather than the grape variety, which you are probably more familiar with (from Abruzzo rather than Tuscany). Don’t worry though, we think we’ve got the best of Tuscan Sangiovese covered with Tregole and Il Colle di Carli ;)
Happy drinking!