A Guide to Tuscany's Famous Sangiovese Wines

Ep 98

Do the countless names and styles of Sangiovese in Tuscany leave you feeling more confused than confident?

Today, we are unraveling the complexities of the famed Sangiovese grape. Due to this grape’s many different names and regional variations, it can often be confusing. 

We are going to dig into the DOCG classification system in Italy. Tuscany alone has 11 DOCGs, with 7 requiring that red wines are predominantly Sangiovese. We will also explore Chianti and its resurgence of quality through innovative wine-making techniques. Then we will head south to explore Brunello di Montalcino, the differences between traditional and modern winemaking techniques, and how they affect the wine's flavor profile. I’ll touch on some lesser-known regions like Carmignano, Morelino di Scansano, and smaller areas that often produce exceptional Sangiovese wines at a more affordable price point.

So, if you are ready to dive into the heart of Tuscany and unravel the complexities of the Sangiovese grape, then this episode is for you!

Resources: 

Tuscany Wine Map - http://media.winefolly.com/Tuscany-Wine-Map-by-Wine-Folly.jpg 

Episode Highlights:

• The surprising origins and spread of Sangiovese across Tuscany

• Understanding DOCG and DOC classifications

• Italian wine labeling by variety and region

• Characteristics of Sangiovese wines

• Key wine regions within Tuscany

• Chianti's journey from region to renowned wine style

• Exploring Brunello di Montalcino’s modern and traditional styles

• The complex identity of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

• Discovering Tuscany's hidden Sangiovese gems

• Lesser known wine regions in Tuscany

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Transcript

0:00

Welcome back to another episode of the Cork and Fizz Guide to Wine Podcast. Today's episode is going to be a continuation in our Italy miniseries, and today we are talking about a grape that shows up all over Tuscany, but goes by very many names. So it can be a little confusing. We are talking about sangiovese in Tuscany. So I have a little story behind this before we jump into all the education of it that goes to show you, like, we all start at the same place where we're, like, we don't really know what we're doing when it comes to wine. So Chianti, which is a style of sangiovese in Tuscany, was one of the first wines that I ordered out at a restaurant. I can actually remember the I don't think the restaurant exists anymore. It's called Agra Dolce. It was in Seattle. And my husband and I were out to dinner at this space, and we were looking over the menu and specifically looking over the wine menu and nothing looked familiar. I mean, this entire wine menu was Italian and neither of us spoke Italian and neither of us knew much about Italian wine. But that was until my husband actually saw Chianti, and he told me, he said, oh, one of my coworkers said that Chianti was good. It's what he always gets. So that was enough for us. We had no idea other than that at the time. So we ordered it and it was great. And it kinda became our go to wine that we'd order whenever we were out. Took quite a long time for me to learn that Chianti was not actually the name of the grape. It was the name of the region that this wine comes from, which is made out of the Sangiovese grape. And of course, this episode isn't about Chianti, it's about Sangiovese and, specifically, Sangiovese that is grown in the central region of Italy known as Tuscany. So of the 11 DOCGs in Tuscany and remember, DOCG in Italy is essentially just a what do I wanna say? It's it's like a region within Italy that is determined to follow specific rules and it makes a certain style of wine, and it's all kinda detailed in a specific region. So of the 11 DOCGs in Tuscany, and DOCG is the highest level of classification in Italy, Seven of them are wines required to be a majority Sangiovese. So that's right. Seven of the 11 are required to be a majority Sangiovese for the reds. And that's just the DOCGs. Many of the 40 plus DOCs, which is just the next level down of classification, also require a majority of sangiovese. But here's the thing, they don't all call it sangiovese. And that is why I have an entire episode dedicated to this because holy moly, it can be confusing. So friendly reminder on how Italians label wine. You will either find it labeled by variety. So I've seen, for example, Dolcetto. That is the name of the grape that is the variety and I've seen it written on the bottle. I'm trying to think of another one off the top of my head that does this. There are a few that are just like purely the variety and it just says the grape name. There are also regions. Right? So a great example of this is Barolo. Like, you just see Barolo on the label. Barolo is not a grape variety. Barolo is a region, and it is a region that is dedicated to the grape nebbiolo. So you know that when you get a Barolo, it is just the nebbiolo grape in that wine. Now, there's also an option for a wine to be named variety and region. So some examples of this are Barbera de Asti. So Barbera is the name of the grape that is the variety and then de is like of. So Barbera of and then Asti. Asti is the region. There's also Moscato de Asti. Right? I'm telling you this because when we go through some of the different wines that are different types of Sangiovese, you will recognize these naming conventions. So again, can either be named by the variety, so just the grape name. It could also be named by the region, or it can be named by the grape and the region. Alright. Kind of makes sense. Okay. Let's dive into the basics. Just let's talk about the grape. Right? Let's talk about sangiovese. So while Sangiovese is most famous in Tuscany, it actually originated in Southern Italy. It was recent DNA testing back in 02/2004 that showed its parents to be a Calabrian grape variety called Calabresse di Monte Nuevo and another grape called it Silagliolo. So again, Sangiovese famous in Tuscany actually comes from Southern Italy. It can be challenging to grow good Sangiovese. Basically, the idea is just because you can grow it doesn't mean you should. It has high yields, so it kind of takes off on its own, and so farmers or winemakers have to control those grapes so that they actually taste good. And it also needs warmth to ripen and it can take a while. There are lots of clones and mutations of Sangiovese. So if you haven't heard this heard these terms before, a clone has the same genetic makeup, but there are minor differences that exist between the clones and we're talking about grapes specifically. Okay? We're not talking about any other types of clones. Then for a mutation, this is actually a different genetic makeup so it creates a new grape. So for Sangiovese, it has over 80 different clones. So that would still be considered Sangiovese, but there is something slightly different about each of these clones that allows us to differentiate between them. And one of these clones is Brunello, which we will talk about very soon. Almost 90% of sangiovese can be found in Italy, while most of it is in Tuscany. And each region in Tuscany makes a different style of sangiovese, but they all typically have these few things in common. So for one, you're gonna get ripe and tart red fruit. You're also gonna get some herbal notes. You know, common ones are fennel or rosemary. You're You're also gonna get some non fruit kinda savory notes like balsamic and tomato. The wine's also gonna be either medium to full bodied. So depending on where it's from, what clone is used, what the climate is is gonna determine that medium to full bodied, but they will almost all have a very high acidity. Okay. So now I'm gonna dive into each of the key regions within Tuscany that make Sangiovese. So we're gonna start with kinda like the two most popular, at least what I consider to be two of the most popular, and then we'll dive into some of the lesser known just so if you ever see it on a label, you will recognize it. So let's start with the one that started off for me, and that is Chianti. And Chianti is a DOCG. Remember that is the highest level of classification for an Italian wine region. So the history of Chianti, it dates back to at least the thirteenth century with the earliest incarnations of Chianti actually as a white wine, surprising enough. The first definition of a wine area called Chianti, so again that kind of region, was made in 1716. And there's actually, this region was actually what is now known as Chianti Classico, and it is the historical heart of the Chianti region. And as the wines of Chianti grew in popularity, other villages in Tuscany wanted their lands to be called Chianti. They said, this name has power. I want this name on my wine labels. And so the boundaries of the Chianti region have made many expansions, and there have been many subdivisions over the centuries. Now traditionally Chianti was a blend of red grapes, mostly sangiovese of course, but there was also caniolo and colorino and also some white grapes, namely Malveja and Trebbiano. Now this formula for our Chianti wine, which now we are switching to the red. We're not talking about that historical white one. That one's that one's gone. That one's in the past. Talking about the red. And this formula was actually formalized in mid eighteen hundreds by Baron Bettino Ricasoli. He was the second prime minister of United Italy. His family had been making Chianti since the beginning of the thirteenth century. And he noted that adding a small amount of the white Melvasia to his red Chianti would heighten its vivacity and make it more drinkable young. And that's honestly not a crazy thought. If you know anything about popular Syrah in France, they often add a little bit of the white grape Viognier to Syrah in the Rhone Valley to darken the wine and add additional flavors. But here's the thing in Chianti, people took it too far. White grapes were cheaper and as Chianti became popular, more and more white grapes were used to lighten it. Trebbino Toscano especially was used more, not the Malvesia that our Baron Bettino Rescassoli recommended. And the thing is with Trebbiano Toscano, it's it's a little dull. It's a little it's a little boring. Doesn't really have a lot going on to it. So it really wasn't had anything into the Chianti. It wasn't doing what the Malvasia was supposed to do where it heightened that acidity and that brightness and making it drinkable. I I mean, it made it drinkable, but, like, boring drinkable, I suppose. There were also problems in the vineyard. So in the economic aftermath of World War two, wine growers were given this agricultural development fund by the government, which is supposed to be good. Right? The problem was that the Chianti area continued to be enlarged even more with a little regard to how good the land actually was. That's the thing, these regions and these, you know, the classifications are decided based on the quality of the land and the potential that land has to make incredible wine. But if they keep just expanding the region with no good reason and not even caring about the quality of the land, the quality of the wine suffers and so does the reputation. And it was by the mid nineteen seventies, Chianti was honestly bought more for that straw covered bottle, what's called a fiasco, than it was for the liquid inside. So this led to a fine wine revolution, creation of the Super Tuscan actually, which is Sangiovese plus our more, international grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, but we're not talking about that right now. We're talking about Chianti, which by law now requires 70% plus of sangiovese and up to 30% other red grapes and only 10% of that can be white grapes. And honestly, those are used seldom these days. Now, as I mentioned before, Chianti has grown quite a bit from its initial starting point. They have narrowed it down and they've also provided sub zones within Chianti. So you'll see these sub zones often written on the label as well. And many of these are DOCs beyond just the Chianti. And so the sub zones include Coli Florentini, Chianti Rufina, ColiArentini, Coli Sanesi, Colleen Pisane, Mante Espertoli, and Montalbano. And fun fact, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montalciano, which I promise we will talk about later. So if those mean nothing to you, just ignore. But those two wines, which are incredibly popular and very famous, could be bottled and labeled under the most basic designation of Chianti because that's how big the Chianti region is. Now in 1984, the Chianti Classico and the greater Chianti Region were separated and each given their own DOCG ranking. And that Chianti Classico refers to that historical kinda heart of Chianti. So that was what the region started as, and now the Chianti Region has expanded much more than that. Now a Chianti, so if we're talking about the larger region, again, remember, it must be at least 70% sangiovese. It is suitable for younger drinking. There isn't any aging requirement. They tend to be more acidic and more medium bodied. Remember, a sangiovese from this region is either gonna be from Tuscany. It's either gonna be medium or full bodied. Arcianti is more on the lighter side, so it's a little more medium bodied. Flavor wise, you're gonna get tomato, tart cherry, strawberry, and dried herbs. Now if you go into that historic region, the Chianti Classico, DOCG, this is that historic area. It has richer, fuller bodied Chianti. Many of the vineyards slope towards the Basin Of Sienna, which is a prehistoric lake and are on south and southwest facing slopes, AKA they face the Equator and they are higher quality. By law, a Chianti Classico has to be 80% Sangiovese and up to 20% other reds, no white grapes are allowed in a Chianti Classico. There are also classifications to a Chianti Classico. So you have a reserva. So if it says Chianti Classico reserva, this is made only in the best vintage years. The grapes come from selected sites and it has to be aged for two years. There's also Grand Selection and this was actually created in 2013 for wines from 2010 vintage onwards. You're not gonna find this in too old of bottles. But these are estate grown grapes. So this means that the winemaker when making this did not buy grapes from somewhere else. They grew the grapes on their estate. It is aged thirty months, and it must be tasted and approved by a special panel. So it is definitely, like, pretty much the top notch Chianti Classico that you can get. That is the Gran Celestion. And one thing you will notice on a Chianti Classico bottle is a black rooster. And this black rooster is displayed on every single bottle. It's basically like a note of authenticity for your Chianti Classico. And there's a really fun story behind it, which is why I bring this up. Well, also, and to explain why you see a black rooster on everything. So there's this medieval legend that originated in the beginning of the thirteenth century that explains the black rooster. There were hostilities between Florence and Italy. Obviously, at the time, they were two separate nations. They decided that a knight from each city would ride at sunrise, and they'd ride with the rooster's first crow. And where they met would be the city lines. The Florence Knight chose a black rooster, locked him in a coop, and starved him for two days. So you can imagine on the day of the ride when they let him out, he crowed much, much earlier than dawn. Thus, the Florence Knight rode much further into the region and they got a further line. They got more of the land. So that is the idea behind the black rooster. Now there are nine famous towns within Chianti Classico and the names, they're trying, but unfortunately, they are historically prevented from being listed on the labels. They're trying to change that. They want to be able to do what Burgundy does, where they have, you know, even like the towns in each of the regions within the sub region are famous and known for specific styles, but they just can't do it yet. Now our resulting wine for Chianti Classico, again, is going to be 80% Sangiovese at least, if not a hundred. It's gonna be darker, richer fruit like plum and dried cherries. Still gonna be herbaceous, and there's gonna be this kind of unique espresso note to it. And, of course, we're looking at a more fuller body. Okay. That's Chianti. That is our first region. Okay. Now we're gonna talk about our next region. So we're gonna head about an hour's drive south of Chianti Classico. And remember, that's like the center of Chianti. We're gonna head an hour south and you'll see the city of Montalcino, and it's a city that clings to this rocky hilltop. And this is where you will find Brunello di Montalcino. And this, of course, is also a DOCG, our highest classification. The best vineyards in Montalcino are located on these hills and the vineyards, particularly those directly surrounding the town of Montalcino itself are the best. Now this wine is called Brunello di Montalcino. So remember when I talked about the different ways that we can label wine. So this is labeled by the variety and the region. So it's telling you Brunello, the grape of Montalcino. But then if you're like, Haley, this is a this is a podcast about sangiovese. Why are we talking about Brunello? Well, here's the thing. Brunello is a clone of sangiovese. So it is the same grape variety. Remember, clones have the same genetic material. There's just some slight differences that end up creating different styles of wine. Brunello means little dark one in the local dialect. Now wine has been made in Montalcino for many years. Remember, that's our region that we're in. We're in Montalcino, but the wine that would become Brunello di Montalcino did not come about until the eighteen sixties to seventies. In the eighteen seventies, well before science of clones was even understood, this man, Frusio Biondi Santi, selected certain wines and propagated the cuttings at his estate in Montalcino. And he called them Brunello instead of Sangiovese. Now this is actually Sangiovese Grosso. That is the technical name of the clone. And some even call it Prugno Logentil. So it has a few different names, but he made wine with particular care. He destemmed these grapes before fermenting them, and he aged the wines longer than normal. Now, unfortunately, just as this clone Brunello was poised to take off, World War one and World War two devastated the area and crippled the wine industry. In fact, in the nineteen fifties and sixties, Montalcino was one of the poorest towns in all of Italy, with very few families still working the vineyards. However, thanks to the persistence of some great growers and winemakers, most notably Cancredi Biondi Santi, the region was recognized as a producer of one of the best red wines in the world, And Montalcino is now a luxurious and posh resort slash vineyard town. So definitely a place to visit if you ever want to go to Italy. Now Brunello Di Montalcino falls under two different categories these days. You have the traditional and you have the modern. So traditional producers use large well used Slovenian oak barrels. And remember, if it's a used oak barrel, it does not impart very much flavor, does not impart those oak lactones into the wine, and it's simply used as a vessel to encourage tertiary flavor development through oxygen exposure. Wines develop more dried fruit, leather, and flower flavors and have a long aging potential. Now for our modern producers, they follow innovations from France, like in Bordeaux. Some producers use newer, small French barrels called barriques that impart more oak lactones into the wine and encourage the development of black fruit, chocolate, brown sugar, and vanilla flavors. Because oxygen exposure increases due to these small barrels, right, there's a larger oak to wine surface area, more of the barrel touches more of the wine, you can expect the modern method Montalcino wines be ready to drink sooner than the traditional ones. Now either way, the resulting wine for us, these are, these wines always have to be a % Brunello, so a % Sangiovese. They are full bodied, panic, and complex. And especially those traditional ones, they can be a bit aggressive in their youth, meaning you might wanna age it a bit. These are also the have the longest aging requirement for any sangiovese that we're gonna talk about. And so it's four years for normale and five years for reserva. So you might see normale or reserva on the label. In terms of aromas, you can get everything from black cherry, earth, leather, violet, espresso, and everything I mentioned before too if it had oak contact. Now Brunello di Montalcino can be expensive. Like, let's be real. Those those wines can be expensive and a little harder to find too. But instead, if you wanna try something similar, but not quite, right, you don't wanna spend quite that much, look for what's called a rosso di Montalcino diosi. So in this case, rosso just means red. It is the red wine of Montalcino. So it's the same region as Brunello Di Montalcino, but they are younger vines. They produce a lighter, fruitier, less complex style of wine. There are no aging requirements. You're still going to get this black cherry and wild berry fruit and a hint of spice and vanilla. This Rosso di Montalcino Chino is a way for winemakers to make wine from their younger vines or to create a wine when the Brunello di Montal Chino isn't showing well after a couple of years. Like we they have to age that for at least four years. So if anytime in there, it just isn't doing what a Brunello di Montalcino is supposed to do. It still probably tastes great and they just call it a rosso di Montalcino and you end up not having to pay a bunch for it. Okay. We talked about Chianti. We talked about Brunello Di Montalcino. Now we're going to head an hour east of Montalcino. And don't worry, I'm gonna put a map in the show notes. So once you're done listening to this, feel free to take a look at that. But if you're thinking, you know, right, first we had Chianti Classico. We went about an hour south to Montalcino. Now we're gonna go an hour east from Montalcino, and we're going to hit the land famous for a wine called Vino Nobile de Montepulciano. This wine is confusing even to wine dorks like me. So again, this is one that's it's kinda it's labeled like, something special day region because, like, Vinonobile is not a wine grape. Okay. But Montepulciano is both a region and a name of a grape. But of course, that grape is not grown in the region of the same name. That would be too easy, right? Why would you have Montepulciano grapes from the Montepulciano region? We don't want that. So Montepulciano as a grape is grown in Abruzzo. In the region of Montepulciano, in this region, the principal grape is you guessed it, Sangiovese. The local clone here is Prugnolo Gentio, so similar to that. Likely the same grape as the Brunello, but they just don't call it Brunello here. And it is has to make up at least 70% of the wine. Must be aged for at least two years, three years for a zerba, including twelve to twenty four months in oak. And depending on the producer and their goals, these wines typically range everywhere from like that easy drinking wine like we talked about in Chianti to a more intense, rich, structured wine like Brunello di Montalcino. Okay. So that was our vino nobbile di Montepulciano. Okay. Now we're getting in the car and we are heading north and we are going even further north than Chianti Classico. We are heading to Carmignano, and this is also a DOCG. This region overlaps with a subregion of Chianti and actually was at one point absorbed into Chianti, but ever since 1975, it's been its own region. The area is rich in history. The origins of Carmignano can be traced back as far as the fourteenth century when a document was drawn up demonstrating that this region was four times as expensive as any other wine of the time. And four hundred years later in the seventeen hundreds, this region was established as a nursery for other grape varieties. And a nursery basically means like a place that they take like different grape vines to get established to a region and to understand if they can grow in a specific climate. And so here, this area became a nursery and they had plantings of famous grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon from France. So the wines that you'll find in Carminano, and this is c A R m I g n a N o. Realize I might not be saying it totally right. I looked it up and I swear it says it I'm saying it like I heard it, but it might sound a little different coming from a non Italian speaker like myself. So carminano. The wines, they are a blend. They have to be at least 50% sangiovese and up to 20% canolo nero. And then a required 10 to 20% each of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. These are also very drinkable like a Chianti. Remember we're actually overlapping in that region a little bit, but a little bit darker fruit and there's more structure to the wine. So it just like holds up a little bit more, due to a soil that has less sandstone in it. The wines must be aged for approximately eighteen months with eight months in oak or chestnut, apparently, which I have not heard a lot about chestnut barrels being used. All right. We are heading back down south and we are going Southeast Of Montalcino. So remember this was Brunello Di Montalcino. We are heading Southeast Of Montalcino to a region called Morelino Di Scansano. This is also a DOCG, so we are talking about our highest level of classifications. This is located in Southern Tuscany's large Maremma region, the entirety of which this entire region used to be swampland until it was drained in the nineteen thirties. So remember, I called this Morelino Di Scansano. Right? So you're like, okay. Grape d region. So Scansano is the region. That means Morelino must be the grape, but we're supposed to be talking about Sangiovese. Ah, you see? Sangiovese is known here locally as Morelino, which is a name that was borrowed from the Morelli horses typical of the area. Now the wines have to contain at least 85% Sangiovese or what they call Morelino. It is more plush and juicy. The acidity kind of softened by this dark drinkable cherry fruit and they only require six months of aging. Okay. I also wanted to share three more sub regions. These are even lesser known regions than the ones I was just talking about. And I'm actually going to start in the South and work our way north. So like I said, if you wanna see all of these on a map, check out the show notes. I will include a map there that you can click on and see where all of these are. So starting off, you have a Montecucco San Gioese DOCG. This is made in six villages found between Montalcino and Scansano. Those were those regions that we mentioned about. Remember, Montalcino is Brunello Di Montalcino, and then Scansano had the Molino. It was like the swampland that used to be and then we drained it. This Montecucco Sangiovese DOCG is separate from which is confusing enough, just the plain Montecucco DOC. It needs to have the word sangiovese after it. Because if it's a sangiovese after it, it has to feature a minimum 90% of sangiovese versus the one that doesn't have sangiovese only requires 60%. And this is more, this is a great option for Tuscan Sangiovese at a relatively affordable price because most people have never heard of it. So they don't know that this is a great style of wine from a wonderful region, not far from the famous Brunello de Montalcino, but it just doesn't have that same price point. Okay. Then we have Monterillo de Masa Maritima Sangiovese, and I'll also put the name of each of these in the show notes. I'm trying to say them as authentically as I can, but again, I know that's not the best coming from a, you know, girl from Wisconsin who's, you know, not learned Italian. So Montaregio di Massa Maritima Sangiovese. This is the DOC. So it's not the highest level, but it's the next level down. It is a minimum 85% Sangiovese. It is East Of Montecucco, so it's towards the coast. And it is still part of what that used to be swampland region. So that basically tells us we're looking at a plushier, fruitier style of sangiovese. And last, we have a Colleen Lucchese, sangiovese. This is quite far north. It is around the town of Lucca, which I can say from personal experience is a beautiful town. This is one of the areas in Tuscany. I've actually had the chance to visit myself. Highly recommend checking out Luca, especially the older part of it. Luca essentially has like the modern and the traditional. The beautiful traditional old section is just gorgeous. But this wine, Colleen Lucchesi sangiovese. So again, it has sangiovese written in the name, so look for that. It is minimum 85% sangiovese. And because it's pretty far north, it's gonna be medium bodied. Right? So a little lighter with lots of acidity going on. So very bright, very fresh style of sangiovese. Okay. That is sangiovese. So in summary, let me look at all the different types of sangiovese that we talked about in just Tuscany. So we had Chianti, then we had Chianti Classico, then we had Brunello di Montalcino, then we had Rosso di Montalcino, Then we had vino novile di Montalciano. And then kind of our smaller ones, Carmignano followed by Morelino Discanzano. And our much smaller ones, Montecoco San Gioese. Monterio Di Massa Maritima sangiovese, and Colleen Lucchesi sangiovese. Wow. That is all different types of sangiovese that you will find in Tuscany. Now I hope you enjoyed this episode of the cork and fizz guide to wine podcast. If you love this as much as I did, I would love it if you could take a quick second to rate it and leave a review. And if you know a wine lover in your life that would enjoy this episode, please share it with them. Would mean the world to me. Now in next week's episode, we will discover five lesser known white wines of Italy. I gotta be honest. I wasn't always a big fan of the white wines, and then I started discovering these really, really cool ones. So I'm excited to share them with you next week. Thanks again for listening. And if you wanna learn more about wine, come follow me at cork and fizz on Instagram. And if you're interested in exploring new wines and joining an incredible community of wine lovers, be sure to sign up for my virtual tasting club, The Court Crew. Head to thecourtcrew.com to learn more and use code wine one zero one when signing up to get your first month free. Cheers.